


Hogwarts High

by Eccentric_Reader



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Coming Out, F/F, Friendship, High School, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Romance, cute ig, relationships, sorry but it's bella
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-20
Updated: 2021-03-17
Packaged: 2021-03-18 12:29:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 29,441
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28867053
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eccentric_Reader/pseuds/Eccentric_Reader
Summary: Welcome to Hogwarts High, a school in the quiet suburban town that Hermione Granger finds herself in after moving away from her old town. Upon arriving, she makes fast friends with Ginny, Harry, and Ron, and is immediately fascinated with the enigmatic Bellatrix Black.Or: In which Hermione finally makes friends, gets through junior year of high school, and maybe, just maybe... falls in love?
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Bellatrix Black Lestrange
Comments: 149
Kudos: 256





	1. September, Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooh boy, alright, so this is something I've been toying with in my head recently. I don't think there are many (any, actually) Bellamione high school au's, so. here it is. 
> 
> Yay?
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

Hermione gulped and held her books closer to her chest as she looked up at the weathered paint on the brick spelling out, “Hogwarts High”. It was so much…  _ bigger  _ than her last school, which, she reflected, likely said more about her old school, which had had a comfortable class size of 30 students, than this new one. Still, it looked so imposing, and big, and how on earth was she supposed to fit in with anyone here?

She was snapped out of her daze at the sheer size of the school by someone brushing past her, bumping her shoulder in the process. She scowled a bit at the tall boy who had only looked back to sneer at her before continuing on his way. He was part of a gang of similarly tall, fit boys, and Hermione made a mental note to steer clear of them.

She managed to find the main office after several wrong turns and a helpful teacher pointing her in the right direction, and got a schedule listing all of the honors classes she’d signed up for and a helpful map of the school. 5 minutes later, she was standing in the crowded halls in front of Ms. Minerva McGonagall’s english class, trying her best to ignore the stares and whispers coming her way from the students surrounding her in the hallway as she followed the line of students filtering into the classroom.

She chose a desk on the side of the room, thankful that she’d arrived at the beginning of the year when everyone had yet to work out the unspoken seating arrangements that teenagers generally fall into in every class. 

As the teacher set up, getting attendance sheets in order and straightening notes on her desk, Hermione instinctively shrunk down into her desk as the muttering grew louder as more and more people came into the classroom and saw her. Eventually, the seat next to her was filled by a redheaded girl with more freckles than skin who immediately leaned over and poked her in the arm.

“Hi! I’m Ginny Weasley! What’s your name?”

Hermione felt her heartbeat quicken as two boys took the seats around her, one in front of Ginny and one behind Hermione, and turned to face her as well. “Er- Hermione. Hermione Granger.”

The boy in the front, with identical red hair to Ginny’s, perked up. “Oh, you’re the daughter of those two dentists that moved in last month! We were wondering if they had any kids. We live on the other side of town, but Harry here lives just down the street from you!”

(A voice in the back of Hermione’s head that sounded suspiciously like her parents chastised her for not going to meet any of her neighbors upon moving in to the town before she pushed it down with the reminder that the sheer amount of summer work she’d had to do hadn’t given her any time for socializing.)

The other boy, presumably Harry, grinned at her and leaned back into the wall, kicking his feet up on the chair next to him. “I’m Harry Potter, and this is Ron.” He spread his arms wide (nearly whacking the girl behind him in the process). “Welcome to Hogwarts High.”

“And before you ask,” Ron butted in, gesturing between him and Ginny. “We’re not twins. We’re just in the unfortunate situation of being siblings in the same year. I’m 10 months older. And it’s real nice to meet you, Hermione,” he added when Ginny kicked him in the shin.

“Nice to meet you too,” Hermione smiled shyly, finding herself relaxing a bit at the prospect of people having come up to talk to her on the first day. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad here after all.

As the rest of the class filled in, two more people sat around her, the first introducing himself as Neville Longbottom before half heartedly trying to push Harry’s feet from his chair, and the second stating that her name was Luna before turning to a book labeled “Conspiracy Theories of the 21st Century: Simply Legends, Or  _ Truths? _ By Xenophilius Lovegood.”

“Mr. Potter,” a voice snapped from the front of the room. “Get your feet off of Mr. Longbottom’s chair, please.” Minerva McGonagall was a stern but kind woman who ran her classroom in a very “no nonsense” way, and had clearly had a previous encounter with Harry.

Harry grinned and took his feet off Neville’s chair, then proceeded to lean forward and fix his glasses. “Sure thing, Ms. McGonagall. Have a nice summer?”

“Splendid,” she responded, rolling her eyes, but Hermione could see the hint of a smile tugging at her lips. “Now. For those of you who did not have me last year, my name is Ms. McGonagall, and, as you all should know, I will be teaching your English class this year.”

Hermione felt herself relax even more as they began class, knowing that no matter where she was, she could always enjoy a good lesson. McGonagall went through attendance, and Hermione’s voice didn’t even shake when she called out, “Here”. She had just made her way through the list when one last person burst through the door, throwing a muttered “sorry” over her shoulder before hurrying to the last row of desks and slumping down into the nearest chair. 

“That’s Bellatrix,” Harry said in her ear, making her jump a bit. “Her dad’s this big real estate mogul so she’s got like, a shit-ton of money-”

“Mr. Potter,” McGonagall sighed. “Do you have something productive you’d like to share with the class?”

Harry leaned back into his own chair. “Sorry, Ms. McGonagall. Won’t happen again.”

“I’m sure,” she grumbled, turning to the computer perched at the edge of her desk. The google classroom code went up on the board, and the class was quick to get out the school-provided devices (“I forgot mine at home,” Neville groaned, pulling out his phone and opening up an app instead) to copy it in. They spent the period going through the usual syllabus, class rules, etc. (that Hermione was sure she and only she paid attention to), and by the time the bell rang, the class was quick to jump out of their seats and stuff supplies back in their bags.

“Hey, Hermione, what class d’you have next?” Ginny asked, grabbing her schedule before Hermione could answer. “Ah, chem? I don’t think any of us has that next-” A quick look around at their little group confirmed this- “But Harry and I will see you in, let’s see, oh, pre-calc, ew. And if you want you can find us at lunch, we’d love to have you sit with us!”

Hermione nodded her assent as they walked out of the classroom together, feeling elated at the prospect of having people to sit with at lunch (at her old school, she had not had a group of friends, or any friends at all, really- she’d sat at the edge of a table with a few other girls who had nowhere to sit and read a book or did her homework). Following her map of the school, she managed to get to her next classroom, where the teacher had them all stand at the side of the classroom until he could assign them seats.

“Hello, everyone! I think that’s- yes, that should be all, that is the final bell after all, and I should hope everyone in this class is on time!” he told them, chuckling at something, though Hermione could not for the life of her figure out what it was. “Now, ehm, let’s see, oh, yes, my name is Horace Slughorn, well, Mr. Slughorn to you, that is, and, ah, I’m your chemistry teacher, welcome to the class, all that stuff. Now, we’re going to split into lab partners- don’t look too excited now, I’m going to be picking them!- and then we can, ehm, get started.

“Let’s see- first up, we have Pansy Parkinson and Lavender Brown! Pansy, Lavender, you’ll be up here in the front- yes, there you go-” The two girls, alternating between glaring sulkily at each other and turning to pout at the friends they had obviously been hoping to pair with, made their way over to the aforementioned front lab table and settled down with their bags. 

“And over here we have Hermione Granger- oh, and you’re the new student! How are you liking Hogwarts High so far?”

Hermione groaned inwardly as the class turned to stare at her. “It’s good,” she got out, clutching at her bag strap. 

“Good, good,” he said absentmindedly, turning back to his list and seemingly forgetting all about her before looking up again. “And you’ll be with Bellatrix Black- where are you? Oh, yes, there, well, you two will take this desk- and next up-”

Bellatrix slumped down into the seat closest to the door, leaving Hermione to take the other. She toyed with the edge of her shirt for a bit before turning to smile awkwardly at her. “Er- hi. I’m Hermione.”

Bellatrix looked at her extended hand, raised an eyebrow, and gingerly accepted the handshake. “Bellatrix.”

And then she turned away to stare at the clock above the door.

Hermione pushed down the sting she felt at the apparent rejection and turned towards the desk to get out her computer as Slughorn continued to make his way around the room. She and her lab partner sat in complete silence until the teacher finally finished up and instructed them all on how to access the classroom page.

“And now that that’s all done with, I’m going to put our class rules on the projector- let me just figure out-” Again, Hermione had to suppress a groan as Slughorn started working at the computer to get the projector working. Looking around, the rest of the class had similar expressions of exasperation on their faces.

Next to her, Bellatrix started to spin a pencil around with long, nimble fingers.

5 minutes later, they had a list of rules up on the board. “Now, we have the basic rules, ehm, no phones, no gum, no food- and everyone remember, when we have lab days, have something to tie your hair back and make sure you have no loose clothing! And here we have our grading procedures, ehm, homework will be…” 

A breeze had picked up from the windows that Slughorn had propped open to counter the heat, and Bellatrix’s hair got a bit swept to the side. Now that she got a better look, she realized that Bellatrix had rather pretty, if not a little (okay, a lot) messy, hair that matched dark onyx eyes….

“And, of course, we must go over lab safety procedures, so here, pull up this document….”

The pencil was still twirling, around and around and around a hand that had a couple of tiny scars (Hermione wondered idly if this was from earlier mistakes with the pencil before she’d managed to spin it so expertly) but that was otherwise flawless.

“... and remember,  _ don’t set anything on fire. _ If you do, get it put out as quickly as you can, we don’t need to call the fire department over a lab gone wrong….”

Dark eyes were back on the clock, doubtless counting down the minutes until they could leave, and Hermione found that the pencil was spinning in time with the second hand,  _ tik, tok, tik, tok, tik _ ….

“... never, ever,  _ ever _ put anything in this lab in your mouth. That is very important, class. If I want you to taste something, I will specify it. We don’t want anyone getting poisoned by accident! I had a student once, actually, who ingested a particularly nasty….”

The pencil stopped, and came to rest on the lab table, her hand instead going to type a few words into her computer (which, upon further inspection, was not one of the ones issued by the school, and was instead a shiny and sleek one that probably cost more than the new TV Hermione’s parents had just gotten, and Harry’s words that Bellatrix had a “shit-ton of money” rang in her mind). 

The period stretched on like this, Hermione half listening to Slughorn ramble on and spending the rest of the time studying Bellatrix. By the time the bell rang, she had nearly fallen asleep, and was glad to get out of the classroom. She leaned down to pack up her bag and, by the time she was done, Bellatrix had long left the room.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Hermione! Over here!”

Hermione let out the breath she’d been holding when she spotted Ginny and the rest of her new friends. She’d worried that they would tell her to go to the wrong place only to leave her to sit alone. But, thankfully, her original assessment of the group held true- they were a friendly group of people who wouldn’t just up and abandon her.

Smiling, she made her way over to the table and squeezed into an empty spot next to Ginny at the end of the table. She already knew a lot of the people at the table, but she was introduced to Ron and Ginny’s older brothers Fred and George, who greeted her cheerfully before going back to “plotting” with their friend Lee Jordan, and Angelina, Katie, and Alicia, who had been playing soccer with Ginny since childhood and had therefore ingratiated themselves into the group over the years.

“So, how are you liking the school, Hermione? Please don’t tell me you’ve found other friends in your classes and you’re going to leave us,” Ginny pouted, causing Hermione to laugh.

“The school’s fine. Teachers seem nice, I guess. And you’ve been in all of my classes except chem, when would I have met someone?”

Fred and George perked up and turned to face her. 

“You’ve had chem?” Fred grinned.

“That’s a great class-”

“Best part’s the labs, last year we nearly burned down the classroom-”

“On accident, of course,” George winked. “How’s the Slug? Still can’t use a projector?”

“Or teach chemistry?”

“Or-”

Angelina wacked both of them on the head. “Oh, stop it, you two. He wasn’t that bad.”

Fred looked affronted. “Well, sure, he’s not Snape, but I still got more out of crash course videos than his lessons-”

“Which, for the record, are quite possibly the most boring things I’ve ever had to sit through-”

“Best strategy’s to not pay attention and learn it on your own time, leaving the class time for a nice nap-”

“But, of course, if you can follow the lesson, you should pay attention,” Katie insisted, rolling her eyes. 

Ginny huffed and turned back to her as the seniors began arguing amongst themselves. “But surely you must’ve talked to  _ someone _ in chem. Who’s your lab partner?”

“Oh, erm, Bellatrix. But we- what?”

Ginny had started laughing at her. “Oh, have fun with that. Black’s about as approachable as a brick wall. She was Harry’s partner for an English project freshman year, remember that, Harry?”

Harry nodded, swallowing down a bite of his lunch. “It was so awkward. Black doesn’t really, well, talk to people. She’s crazy smart, mind you-”

“Yeah, well, she’s got nothing to do but study,” Ginny pointed out. “Doesn’t exactly have a teeming social life, does she?”

“Well, she isn’t exactly the nicest person to hang around, is she?” Ron countered. “Not even the Death Eaters want to talk to her, and they’re the worst there is.”

“I’m sorry, the what?”

“Oh, they’re this sort of gang, or as close as we’ve got to one, anyway. Bunch of rich boys that like picking on random people in the hallways. Brats, really.” Ginny frowned. “Didn’t Black used to be friends with them?”

Harry and Ron nodded, and Hermione shrugged. “Well, she seemed alright to me. Didn’t talk much, though.”

Ron snorted. “Well, hope it stays that way. Only time I’ve ever talked to her she looked at me like I was something on the bottom of her shoe and told me I should ‘clean myself up’.”

“I mean,” Ginny grinned. “Whatever’s on the bottom of my shoe’s got to be a right sight better than you-”

“Oi!” Ron protested, grabbing a fry off of his tray and chucking it at her. 

She caught it in her mouth. The table quickly turned to a miniature food fight, and for the time being, Hermione put Bellatrix Black out of her mind.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hermione’s life continued on like this for the 3 weeks, happily going through classes. She liked her teachers well enough, and she was settling into her new friend group until it seemed like she’d known some of them for forever. Bellatrix Black remained in the back of her mind, a constant presence throughout her classes, always opting to sit in the back of classrooms if at all possible and not interacting with anyone except for little moments in chemistry as they got through labs and worksheets with minimal speech.

On a beautiful Wednesday afternoon, their gym class (led by the enthusiastic Mrs. Hooch, who, despite her old age, could keep up with most of the student body in the various exercises she led them through) trudged down to the football field and were told to partner off.

Hermione had always hated gym class- not ever having any friends before, she had been left to stand by while everyone else snatched up partners and take the leftovers. She was athletic enough, sure, enough to get by with a good grade in gym, but she’d never been anyone’s first pick for teams, everyone somehow forgetting about her until the pool had filtered down to the last few students.

This year was different- Ginny, Harry, and Ron were all in her class, and she often paired off with Ginny and left the boys to themselves. On that Wednesday, however, Harry had come down with something (they had all debated whether or not that ‘something’ was a desire to not come to school, which was not unlikely), and that had left the three of them to work something out.

After asking Mrs. Hooch if they could form a group of three, and getting a firm “no”, Hermione had said, “You two go ahead and pair off. I’ll find something else- no, really, it’s fine. You two go.”

And so she was once again wandering the group of students, looking for anyone who was standing alone, and just as she was beginning to wonder if there were an odd number of students and had gone to ask Mrs. Hooch, she realized there was one more person without a partner.

Hermione was not entirely sure who Bellatrix normally paired up with (most likely whoever was left to the dogs that day), but all she knew was that she looked… weird out of her signature black clothing and in the bright yellow gym uniform. And she knew that Bellatrix was just as uncomfortable as she was in that moment, and she caught Ginny’s eye, who winced and mouthed “Good luck.” 

Madam Hooch started giving out instructions for a game she called “Natural Selection”. At the name, many students groaned, and next to her, Bellatrix got a pained look on her face.

“Now, I know you’re all excited to play this game.” Excited? The students looked downright miserable- Hermione examined Hooch’s face for any sign of sarcasm, and came up empty. Perhaps the woman was simply delusional as to the popularity of her game. “But we’re going to play a special edition today. As you can see, we’re going to do this with a partner- everyone come up and grab a piece of cloth, you’re going to bind your ankles together so you can’t separate from each other.”

Hermione felt a sickening sense of dread settle in her stomach, and she cast a horrified look at Ginny and Ron, who were guffawing and gaping, respectively, before going with Bellatrix to get a piece of cloth and a… baseball bat?

The feeling in her stomach growing worse by the second, she turned to Bellatrix, who was testing their bat’s weight in her hands. “Er- how do you play Natural Selection?”

Bellatrix stared at her for a moment, as if surprised that she was actually talking to her, before clearing her throat. “Well, as the name implies, it’s usually every man for himself. Each student gets a bat and a couple of balls are thrown out onto the field. We throw the balls at other people to get them out. We bat away the balls that come at us, preferably towards other people. Mrs. Hooch blows her whistle when she sees people cheating and occasionally throws balls at people. The objective, obviously, is throwing balls at people and not getting hit. Unfortunately, it seems she’s made it more complicated, which I’m sure isn’t what the doctors had in mind when they told her to ‘tone it down’ after Nymphadora Tonks had to be sent to the hospital with a fractured skull.”

She turned back to Bellatrix, who was frowning deeply, seemingly realizing that this was likely the most she’d said to a fellow classmate in years. “They let her run this at a school?!”

“No one ever gets  _ that _ hurt playing it. Nymphadora’s clumsy as all hell, everyone knows that, and the Weasley twins scared her, anyway. It wasn’t  _ technically _ Hooch’s fault that she hit herself on the head with a bat.”

“Dear god.”

Bellatrix just sighed and bent down to tie their ankles together.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

30 minutes later, Hermione found herself sitting in the nurse’s office nursing a bruised cheek. Bellatrix sat besides her, getting checked for a concussion and making sure she had not broken any ribs from the bat that had come flying into her stomach. The nurse was grumbling about their gym teacher, and the dangerous nature of all sports in general, and when she left, Hermione cast a worried glance at Bellatrix. 

“How’re your ribs?”

“Fine,” she grumbled. After a second of hesitation, she sighed. “How’s your cheek?”

“Fine.”

The conversation obviously over, Hermione took out a book and waited for the nurse to come back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes:
> 
> I've made Harry a bit OOC in this, for a pretty simple reason- he grew up with his parents in this universe, not the Dursley's. It doesn't majorly impact his character- he's still nice, and he's still a walking entity of sass. However, he is a bit more confident and much less, ah, traumatized.
> 
> And I know in real life, any sane high school administrators would never allow a game like "Natural Selection" to be played at their school. Alas, this is not a real school (and is, incidentally, run by Albus Dumbledore, and whether or not we can use the word "sane" to describe him is up for debate), and this was as close as I could get to Quidditch in the modern world while still creating a situation for Bella and Hermione to interact. And, unfortunately for the health and safety of the students at Hogwarts High, a mutual injury doing something stupid with each other is a great icebreaker.
> 
> Hope you guys enjoyed, and make sure to review!


	2. September, Part 2

Despite their still minimal interaction, Hermione sensed that something had changed between her and Bellatrix. Sure, they still made their way through chemistry classes in relative silence, and Bellatrix still tended towards sitting alone in the back of their shared classes, but now she actually seemed like she might, possibly,  _ want _ to talk to Hermione, at least on some level, but kept stopping herself. 

This did not come to fruition until the last week of September, when the leaves began to turn a beautiful mixture of reds and yellows and oranges and the soccer season really started up, Hermione finding herself being dragged to game after game to cheer on her friends with Neville and Luna in the stands and finding herself not really minding at all. 

“I cannot believe McGonagall’s making us do a project!” Ron groused as they walked down the hall towards english class. They’d all gotten an email on their way to school detailing the assignment, and their group had not been pleased at the news, their angst bolstered by the fact that it was a Monday and also far too early to be dealing with life, never mind the prospect of a project.

“I know, Ron, it’s almost like the point of school is to actually do work, could you imagine that?” Ginny teased. Ginny, who had, from a young age, developed a habit of getting up at the crack of dawn to beat her brothers to the shower, was the only one who could muster up any semblance of consciousness this early in the morning, except perhaps Hermione, who, while by no means a morning person, at least tried to go to bed at a decent hour on weekends and the rare school night where she didn’t have much homework.

“Yeah, come on, it’s not even that bad,” Neville reasoned. “And cheer up, we’ll get to choose our own partners!”

“Plus, think of all the class time we can spend doing nothing while we’re supposed to be doing the project,” Harry grinned, brightening at the prospect. “And then we’ll all have to present them, which’ll take a while-”

“Alright, alright, I get the point,” Ron grumbled. “Still, I’d rather not- er- ‘create a powerpoint on one chosen character from  _ Macbeth _ and how various critical theories fit into that character throughout the play.’ I didn’t even read  _ Macbeth! _ ”

Ginny snorted at that. “Yeah, duh, who ever actually reads for class? Except Hermione, of course,” she amended, cutting off Hermione’s affronted look. 

When they got to the classroom, McGonagall, to no one’s surprise, already had the instructions pulled up on the board. They spent the next few minutes going over things that made most of her classmate’s eyes glaze over before McGonagall released them to fight out who would pair with who.

“Er- guys? I just remembered- I promised Michael I’d work with him on whatever project came next.” Ginny winced as all eyes fell on her.

“Why?” Harry frowned.

“Well, we’re lab partners in chem, and we agreed we’d do it. Sorry, but I sort of promised-”

Still looking regretful, she sped off to the other side of the classroom.

Hermione, sensing the tense atmosphere, asked, “Who’s Michael?”

Harry’s scowl deepened. “Michael Corner. He sits over there with Terry and Padma all the time- can’t imagine why Ginny would want to partner with him.”

Ron, clearly noticing Harry’s sour mood, spoke up, “Well, you can still pair up with me! Come on, forget about them, we’ll make a good time out of it.”

Harry smiled forcefully. “Thanks, mate.”

Still confused, Hermione leaned over to Neville. “Er- what was that?”

Neville smirked. “Michael Corner’s liked Ginny for years now- everyone knows it. Drives Harry crazy.”

Hermione, of course, knew the obvious fact that Harry had a similar crush on Ginny (something that was likely as well known as Michael’s to everyone except for Harry and Ginny themselves), as she had spotted him casting longing glances over at her at random intervals throughout the day. Hermione privately thought that he was being silly by not going for it, but would not voice this, still harboring deep fears that this would upset them enough for her to be removed from the group, and also wondering, as everyone else surely did, how long it would take for them to get their heads out of their asses.

Everyone seemed to realize at the same time that this development left Hermione without a partner. She waved them off, insisting that she could find someone else, though not really knowing who, exactly, she would find, as it seemed that most of her classmates had paired off already-

Her train of thought was interrupted by a sharp rap on her shoulder, and she whirled around to find Bellatrix Black staring down at her.

“Er- yes?”

A brief look of discomfort passed through her normally impassive features until she schooled her expression. “Do you want to work together?”

Ignoring the now gaping faces of her friends, she nodded. “S-Sure. Should I- I’ll, um. Get my stuff. And. Go to where you sit?”

Bellatrix nodded sharply and then turned away towards her own desk. Glancing back at her bewildered friends once more and shrugging, she followed.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“You’re going over to her  _ house _ ?!”

Hermione groaned and leaned her head down in her hands. They had trudged their way through half of the day now, and her friends finally had the opportunity to interrogate her during lunch.

“I told you, it’s only for a few minutes so she can grab something. It’s not like I’m going in or anything.”

“Well, yeah, but still,” Harry pressed. “You don’t seem to understand.  _ No one _ has been over to Black’s house in  _ years _ , and even then it was a select few people. I don’t think anyone has even  _ seen _ the place since then, much less stayed there for more than a few seconds. I can’t believe she’s just- letting you drive there.”

“You have to tell us how big it is!” Ginny grinned. “I heard they’ve got a golden fountain but no one here believes me-”

“I heard they’ve got their own lake,” Fred added. 

“Don’t be ridiculous, there aren’t any lakes near there on any maps. I’d know. You’ve made me help you check,” Angelina reminded him.

“But what if it’s a  _ secret _ lake?” George pointed out. “Ooh, and you’ve got to tell us how their gate works-”

“For completely innocent purposes, of course,” Fred winked. “Apparently they’ve got a state of the art security system.”

“Guys, I’m not going to-  _ spy _ on her, or anything, we’re just doing a project. Relax.”

They did not relax. So Hermione got out her book, crossed her legs resolutely, and pretended that she could not hear them.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bellatrix’s house was  _ huge _ . 

She’d suspected that her friends had been exaggerating, but no- once they’d rolled through the gate (and then driven the extra bit of road that led on to the house from there), Hermione could see that they did, in fact, have a golden fountain. Hermione suddenly felt subconscious- while her car was by no means old or cheap, it could in no way compare to the wealth that was pouring out of every corner of this- house seemed like the wrong word. Estate, maybe?

Hermione spent the next few minutes feeling rather overwhelmed (especially because she was pretty sure she saw a  _ Butler _ peeking through the window) until Bellatrix hurried out of the house with a small bag clutched in her hand and got back in her car.

As she was driving, she wondered what Bellatrix would think of  _ her _ house (which was, she was pretty sure, no bigger than the  _ pool house _ she could’ve sworn she’d seen on the estate)- but she reasoned that, even if it was much smaller than the Black household, her parents made a pretty hefty sum of money from their dentistry practice, and her neighborhood was nothing to turn your nose up at.

Still, when they both climbed out of their respective cars, Hermione could feel her face heating up a bit when Bellatrix gave it an appraising look but otherwise ended up not saying anything at all, which, if it were anyone else, would have stressed Hermione out even more, but as Bellatrix was not, generally, in the habit of saying things at all, Hermione didn’t worry too much about it.

They ended up in her room, the sunlight streaming in and illuminating the bookshelf she had set up across from her bed and giving light to the potted plants lined up on her dresser. Hermione gave herself a pat on the back for cleaning the room over the weekend- while she was not, by any means, a messy person, she was still grateful to not have books laying on the floor where she’d tossed them aside.

Without thinking much of it, Hermione crawled on to her (blessedly neatly made) bed and pulled out her computer. “Alright, I’ll make a doc and- Bellatrix?”

Bellatrix was standing next to the bed, looking as awkward as Hermione had ever seen her (except for, perhaps, the Natural Selection Incident, which had gone unmentioned in the weeks passing it) and looking down at the bed in bewilderment.

“Er- you’re allowed to climb on, it’s just a bed.”

After a moment of hesitation, Bellatrix delicately perched on the edge of the bed, back stiff and straighter than she’d ever seen it (Bellatrix made a habit in class to almost deliberately slouch down as far as possible in her seat at times) and took out her own computer. 

“Sure. I’ll, um- I’ll make the slides.”

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hermione startled when her phone buzzed suddenly besides her, lighting up with a notification from the group chat. The thing went off nearly all hours of the day, from the middle of class to the middle of the night, and Hermione often shut off notifications on her phone for long periods of time. Still, she couldn’t deny that this was the most activity her phone had seen in- well,  _ ever _ , and she enjoyed the chaos that came with it.

_ Harry: _

_ yo who’s coming to hoco _

_ the dance _

_ and the game ig _

_ Ginny: _

_ Ye _

_ We always go _

_ Hermioneeee r u coming _

_ Hermione: _

_ Probably _

_ We didn’t do that at my old school _

_ Ginny: _

_ Do u have a dress _

_ If not _

_ Come over to mine we’re abt the same size _

_ Hermione: _

_ Sure! _

“Who’s that?”

Hermione looked up to find Bellatrix peering at her inquisitively over her computer. They had finished their project nearly 2 hours ago (Bellatrix’s propensity for silence made for an effective, if not awkward, work environment), but had stayed sitting on the bed and doing their work, occasionally asking each other questions but for the most part staying silent. Hermione found herself glancing up every once in a while to peek at Bellatrix as she worked (and quickly turning back to her computer whenever Bellatrix so much as shifted). The black haired girl had moved, at some point, from sitting stiffly at the end of the bed to nestling up against the wall on the far side of the bed, feet tucked in under her legs and shoulders hunched to lean over to her computer, causing errant strands of hair to drift down near her eyes.

“Harry. He’s wondering if I’m going to homecoming.”

“Oh.”

_ Ginny: _

_ hermione r u free tonight _

_ Hermione: _

_ Yeah, when should I head over? _

_ Ginny: _

_ Now? _

_ Hermione: _

_ Actually not now bellatrix is still here _

_ Ron: _

_ how hard is that bloody project _

_ Hermione: _

_ Not that hard _

_ We finished hours ago _

_ Harry: _

_ why tf is she still there then _

_ Hermione: _

_ We’re just working on homework _

_ She’s not exactly bothering me _

_ Ginny: _

_ Ok then _

_ Is she going _

_ Harry: _

_ I’ve never seen black at any dances _

_ I’d be surprised if she showed _

“Hey, Bellatrix?”

“Hmm?”

“Are  _ you _ going to homecoming?”

Bellatrix paused for a moment. “Why, are you?”

“Yeah, I’ll probably go with my friends. I dunno, it seems fun.”

“Mm.” Bellatrix shrugged and went back to her work. “I might go with my sister, she’s been talking about it.”

“Oh! You have a sister?”

“Yes.”

Hermione waited a moment for more information, and when it was nonforthcoming she sighed and went back to work. Either her friends were right when they said that Bellatrix was rude and off putting and cold, or she was just a truly awful conversationalist (which, Hermione reflected, wouldn’t be surprising, seeing as Bellatrix didn’t really…  _ talk _ to people. Ever.)

_ Hermione: _

_ Yeah she said she might go _

_ Harry: _

_ huh _

_ interesting _

_ anyway _

_ does anyone have a date _

Hermione sighed at the obvious (to everyone else in the chat) attempt to find out if Ginny had a date and shut her phone off. She could deal with  _ that _ later.

She heard her parents’ car in the driveway a few minutes later, and soon after, a voice called up the stairs, “Hermione! What’s with the fancy car in the driveway?”

“I’ve got someone over!”

“Oh!” Hermione recognized the sound of her mother’s footsteps up the stairs before her door creaked open. “One of your new friends?”

“Er.” Hermione was tempted to say yes, just to see the look on Bellatrix’s face, but decided against it. “This is Bellatrix. We’re working on a project.”

“Well, Bellatrix, you’re welcome to stay for dinner. We’re making lasagna.”

A brief look of horror passed Bellatrix’s face and she shut her laptop abruptly. “Actually. I should get going, I- it’s getting late.”

She shoved her things into her bag in near record time and, before Hermione could so much as say goodbye, she was out of the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you enjoyed and make sure to review!


	3. October,  Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy!

“Oh, you look so pretty!”

Ginny twirled her finger in an indication that she should turn. When she did, she caught sight of herself in the mirror.

Huh.

Hermione had never really thought of herself as  _ pretty _ , per se. She always buried herself in baggy knitted sweaters and leggings, and her hair had been described as wild at best and nest like at worst. But Ginny had gotten her into an older outfit of hers (Ginny was  _ slightly _ taller than Hermione, something she doubted she would ever live down) and they had managed to wrangle her hair into something that actually resembled hair more than it did a bush, which was the neatest Hermione had ever seen it. 

And- and she actually kind of liked it. Not just in the “ok, this is good enough to go to school in” way that she usually measured herself by, but in a way that made her realize that maybe Ginny was right. She  _ was _ pretty.

She didn’t get much time to dwell on this, however, because there was a sudden banging on the bathroom door. “Gin! Open up, I have to take a shower!”

“Find somewhere else to do it!” she hollered back.

“In case you haven’t noticed, sis, this is the only shower in the house,” came Fred’s sarcastic reply.

“It’s raining outside, you figure it out!”

Fred made a rude noise and stomped away. The Weasley household was… chaotic, to say the least. There weren’t many people staying in it at the moment- just their parents, Ginny, Ron, and the twins- but Hermione knew they had 3 other brothers, and could only imagine what it had been like when they’d all lived together. 

Next to her, Ginny touched up her makeup before snapping her bag shut. “Alright, come on. As much as I’m tempted to hog more time, I wouldn’t want Alicia to have a smelly date.”

“I heard that!” Fred growled as he hurried past them into the bathroom. 

“And anyway, we have to sit in the car with him. And god knows that would be unbearable in an enclosed space.”

Chuckling a bit, the two girls shut the door to Ginny’s room behind them and started pulling on shoes. “So,” Ginny grinned, “your first dance at this school. Anyone you’re thinking of dancing with?”

Hermione shrugged. “Not really, no.”

“Well, there must be  _ someone _ who’s caught your attention.”

Truth be told, no one really had. There were a lot of boys in Hogwarts High, to be sure- she just didn’t know them. The only ones she did know were the ones who stood out in her classes and her friends, none of whom had gotten her particularly interested. And, of course, there were people like Draco Malfoy, who she wouldn’t touch with a ten foot pole and who sauntered through the halls smelling vaguely of various acne lotions and dragging a simpering Pansy Parkinson with him wherever he went, and his friends, who consisted mostly of the “Death Eaters” (who she had thankfully been ignored by so far) who, while big shots on the football team, had the brains of slugs and the personalities to match. 

She told Ginny this (in much vaguer terms), and got a scoff in return. “You haven’t talked to  _ any _ boys outside of our group?”

Unbidden, a flash of curly black hair and porcelain skin crept up in her mind, which she immediately brushed aside with a blush.  _ Where had that come from? _

“No. What about you?” she shot back.

Ginny’s cheeks flamed bright red before calming down again. “Well, despite what Harry may think, I have  _ no interest _ at all  _ whatsoever _ in  _ anyone _ , particularly not Michael Corner, though Harry  _ certainly _ seems to think I do, when I  _ clearly _ -” She seemed to realize that there was someone else listening to her rant, and stopped short. “When I clearly have no interest in anyone, at all, ever.”

Hermione may not have been an expert when it came to social nuances, but she was smart enough to see that, clearly, Ginny had an interest in someone, if her red face was any indication. However, sbe was also smart enough to see that she did not want to divulge that information, and so she did not press any further (though, she reflected, she really already knew, so there was no point to it anyway- Harry’s crush on Ginny was by no means unreciprocated). 

Nearly half an hour later, Hermione was ushered out of the door and into the Weasley’s beat up Ford Anglia (that was clearly on its last legs). The Weasleys lived on the opposite side of town from Bellatrix- and the neighborhood wasn’t exactly  _ poor _ , but it certainly wasn’t rich, either. 

Hermione thought the car might break down a couple of times throughout their journey to the school, but it held up, and they pulled up in front of the doors in one piece. After hurried “goodbyes” and “thank yous”, the Weasley children plus Hermione were out of the car and rushing into the school to avoid the rain.

Hermione had never been to many dances before- when she was in Junior High, she had attended a dance and come to the conclusion that they were not worth the trouble, particularly if one didn’t have anyone to go with. Now, however….

Well. She wasn’t exactly changing that opinion. 

The cafeteria lighting was dim, and she would have lost Ginny if it hadn’t been for her bright red hair. There were people milling about with plastic cups of water or little napkins stuffed with as many cookies as they could carry (and, as was often the case, they could not carry them- Hermione had to sidestep a couple of spills on her way through the cafeteria). The bleachers had been pushed up against the wall to create more room, yet Hermione still felt claustrophobic with the sheer amount of people. The room was beginning to smell like sweat, though there was still the underlying hint of cheap perfumes desperately trying to mask it. The music was near deafening in some parts of the room, playing songs that Hermione had never heard of and that she felt no particular inclination to listen to again. When they finally found Harry, he was lamenting the difficulty of slipping something into a water cooler instead of a bunch bowl (though, judging by the way McGonagall’s eyes were following his movements with a mixture of exasperation and amusement, this had not stopped him from trying). 

No, Hermione didn’t think she liked school dances very much.

Still, she let herself be dragged around the room as people practically screamed compliments at each other’s clothes to be heard over the music. Ginny’s bright green dress was a stark contrast to her dark dress pants and shirt combination, but they both must’ve looked good, because she caught more than one eye looking at them as they passed- and, unlike most days, Hermione felt she could at least pretend that some were looking at her.

The only person who seemed to be enjoying herself was Luna, who was swaying and dancing to something that definitely did not match up with whatever was playing and causing a small circle of empty space to form around her as people, consciously or not, avoided her on their way past.

The whole time, Hermione told herself that she was absolutely  _ not _ looking for Bellatrix, though she perked up every time she saw a glance of black hair. She doubted she would show up, anyway, even if she’d said she would- her friends knew Bellatrix better than she did, after all, and they had all expressed doubts at her attending. Not that she  _ cared _ , or anything, just that Bellatrix had almost been friendly recently (towards her, at least- she still held the rest of the student body at a careful arm’s length), and she’d hoped that, maybe, she would show.

“Hey there.”

She whirled around to find a leering face looking down on her, and she took a step back. “Can I help you?”

“Yeah. I’m Cormac. Cormac McLaggen.” He said his name with the absolute certainty that she had heard of him before- she had not. He seemed far too self important (though not as self important as Draco Malfoy- but, then again, no one really was) and Hermione could smell a taint of alcohol on his breath. Great.

“Wonderful. Will you please excuse me?” she snapped, looking around for Ginny or really any of her friends, but they seemed to have disappeared into the crowd. She thought she spotted a glance of red hair, but it turned out to be Susan Bones, and she felt her stomach sinking.

He grabbed her around the waist as she started away, causing her to scowl and turn to face him. “What’s your problem?”

“What’s my problem? My problem is that those sinfully tight pants of yours are still on-”

“Get away from her.”

McLaggen’s face paled so rapidly Hermione thought for a moment that he might faint, and he stumbled away. “I- I was just- having a bit of fun-”

“Go have fun somewhere else. Preferably near a cliff.”

He sputtered for a moment before turning heel and running. 

“Thanks,” Hermione sighed, turning to her savior. 

Bellatrix Black shifted uncomfortably. “No problem.”

They stood in an awkward but familiar silence for a few moments before Hermione broke it. “So you decided to come.”

“Yes, I figured I might as well chaperone my sister, keep a close eye on her and all of that,” Bellatrix shrugged.

“That’s nice. Where is she?”

Bellatrix’s face blanked. “Um. She’s. Somewhere?”

Well, honestly. What was the point of chaperoning someone if you were just going to lose them? She couldn’t think of another reason for Bellatrix coming to the dance, though she supposed it  _ was _ rather easy to lose people in this crowd.

Whatever the case, Bellatrix didn’t seem in a hurry to go and find her sister, and so Hermione took the time to examine her- her hair was as tamed as Hermione had ever seen it (and, she suspected, as tame as it was ever going to get), and it was curled up into a messy but surprisingly elegant bun, exposing the sharp lines of her face and neck. She had to work hard to not look too closely at the steeped neckline in her dress, which hugged her body tightly until it tapered off around her knee, giving Hermione a view of her shapely legs that she didn’t normally get- Bellatrix tended towards long sleeves when they were in school.

Wow. She felt a bit dizzy. Looking up (or slightly down, even in heels Bellatrix was a bit shorter than her) at Bellatrix, she noticed she seemed similarly lightheaded.

“Do you want to go out to the hall? It’s much less crowded there. And considerably less loud.”

At Bellatrix’s nod, Hermione grabbed her hand and led her towards the door. 

There weren’t many people in the hallway- a couple of freshmen (she thought, at least) and a small group of boys trying to sneak out, as well as several couples making out along the length of the hall.

“So, um.” Hermione startled- she hadn’t expected Bellatrix to suddenly start initiating conversations. “How do you like the dance?”

“Oh, it’s. Nice. You know, the um… music? Isn’t that bad?” To be fair, that was about the best thing she could think of to say about the dance.

“Not really,” Bellatrix snorted. “I felt like my ears were going to die in there, good call bringing us out here.”

“Mm.”

Hermione wondered for a moment why she talked to Bellatrix anyway. She was by no means a conversationalist, after all- yet Hermione felt inexplicably  _ drawn _ to her. She couldn’t really describe it, but the moments that she could get Bellatrix to talk, or smile, were…  _ exciting. _

“Do you want to dance?” Hermione blurted, unable to stop herself. She didn’t know what had come over her- maybe it was because Bellatrix truly did look stunning in that dress, or maybe because Hermione felt almost giddy at the fact that Bellatrix had shown up after all and nervous at the same time.

Bellatrix quirked an eyebrow in amusement. “With what music? Surely you don’t mean to dance with this shit on.”

As if the universe had heard her and wished to contradict, the first slow dance of the night came on, and the girls in the hallway squealed and dragged reluctant partners back into the cafeteria, the freshmen started looking incredibly awkward until the obviously more outgoing one shooed them out of the hall, and the group of boys gave up on their attempts to escape now that the music was bearable, and joined the rest of the students.

“Well, in that case,” Bellatrix said, clearly struggling to hide a smile. “Yes, let’s dance.”

Hermione did not know how to dance. 

Bellatrix did- that much was obvious by the way she led the dance with expert movements, and Hermione realized that, of course, the Blacks taught their children how to dance. It made her feel vaguely nervous (more so than before) and she hoped and prayed to every god she knew that she wouldn’t step on Bellatrix’s feet.

Miraculously, she got through the entire song without major incident, managing to find her rhythm to a point where she was no longer depending entirely on Bellatrix.

They slowed to a stop, and Hermione noticed how close they were standing- Bellatrix’s face was mere inches from hers.

_ She’s really pretty. _

Hermione froze at the thought. Sure, no one could exactly  _ deny _ that Bellatrix was beautiful, but standing here face to face with her, with that light headed giddy feeling taking over her, she realized it might be more than just that- she realized…

_ She wanted to kiss her. _

Her whole world was silent except for the pounding in her ears, and the two were still frozen in each other’s arms in the middle of the hallway, and was it just her or was Bellatrix moving closer too? Yes, she was, and now tantalizing red lips were moving closer and closer, and Hermione started to lean in-

_ Bzzzz. Bzzzz. Bzzzz. _

They both jumped in surprise as a phone started to go off in one of their bags. Jaw clenched, Bellatrix dug through her purse and put a phone to her ear.

“What, Andy?”

Moment over, Hermione stepped away and left Bellatrix to her call. When she hung up, they stared at each other for a moment.

“I- sorry. About that. But I- I should get going, you know, it was- it was really- nice seeing you here.”

And with that, Bellatrix rushed out of the hall and disappeared into the crowd.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *cackles evilly* soooo how'd you guys like it? *evil cackling intensifies*


	4. October, Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which there are revelations and a conversation between one useless lesbian and one emotionally constipated, but similarly useless, lesbian.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy!
> 
> I don't own Harry Potter. Forgot about this part, oops.

“So? How was the dance? We lost you for a couple minutes there, sorry about that, it’s so terribly difficult to see in there, but where did you go? Did you dance with anyone?”

Hermione blushed, sinking lower into her seat. Her group had gone out to eat when the dance started drawing to a close, and Ginny, who was squeezed into the booth between her and Harry (and practically sitting on her lap to avoid touching him, he’d apparently went and danced with a girl named Cho Chang that Hermione had never heard of but was apparently in their year), was interrogating her with a grin on her face.

“No,” she lied. “But I did run into Cormac McLaggen, d’you know him?”

Everyone at the table turned to face her, and several made gagging noises. “Ugh. McLaggen,” Angelina shuddered. “He’s horrible, I’m so sorry you had to talk to him.”

“He’s on the soccer team with us,” Harry added. “Well, not really- he’s a reserve goalie for when Ron can’t play, and I hate him, he thinks he knows how to play soccer but he really doesn’t.”

“Yes, well, he didn’t exactly make a good impression on me either. He tried to feel me up, would you believe that?”

Ginny gasped. “Oh, I wish I’d been there! How’d you get him to stop?”

Her face heated up again. “Er- I didn’t. Bellatrix did.”

On her other side, Ron made a small noise of disbelief in the back of his throat. “Black actually  _ showed up _ ?”

“Yes, she did. She walked up to us and McLaggen ran away with his tail between his legs. It was pretty funny, actually.”

Fred snorted. “I’ll bet it was. I’d love to get McLaggen one day.”

“Someday, Freddie,” George grinned.

They both looked at Angelina, Alicia, and Katie as if they expected them to admonish them, but Angelina just rolled her eyes. “We won’t even stop you on this one. McLaggen’s a pain in the ass.”

“So you hung out with Black the whole time?” Neville asked. “That sounds….”

“Horrible?” Harry suggested.

She reached across Ginny to swat his arm. “She’s not that bad, honestly. Once you get her talking, at least.”

“How do you do that, by the way? I’ve talked to her about 3 times and I’ve known her my whole life. It’s like she actually  _ likes _ you or something.”

Hermione prayed her friends wouldn’t read too much into her undoubtedly red face. Bellatrix certainly liked her- though did she? She knew it was strange for Bellatrix to talk to anyone, never mind dance with them, and she  _ had _ been leaning in towards Hermione until her phone rang, but what if she was reading into it wrong? What if Bellatrix didn’t actually like her that way, and she’d just been misreading something? Oh, god, now she was glad they’d been interrupted. And, now that she thought about it, did  _ she _ like Bellatrix? She’d never liked a girl before- well, she’d never really liked anyone before, now that she thought about it. Not  _ really _ . Not like- well, she’d never felt that way before, but, really, it might have been a spur of the moment thing, not anything  _ permanent _ like a crush or anything like that.

No. That would be silly.

The conversation quickly shifted to other matters (like Ron and Harry complaining that they hadn’t started their project, causing Hermione to roll her eyes and remind them that she and Bellatrix had finished it over a week ago), and Hermione tried her best to put Bellatrix out of her mind. 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Despite her best efforts, Bellatrix would not leave her mind.

She was distracted the entire next day as she tried and failed to concentrate on her homework. Bellatrix, Bellatrix, Bellatrix invaded her mind constantly, along with rather… vivid images of red lips dangerously close to hers. She tried meeting up with friends (she went over to the Potter’s, where Harry was relaxing at home alone, his parents out of the house on a date), but it did nothing to help, especially as Harry tried asking her about the English project (which he and Ron still hadn’t started), bringing her mind immediately to Bellatrix.

After a day that seemed to drag on for an eternity, she got to school tired beyond belief and not at all happy to be in class (though, of course, this did not last long, as Hermione very much enjoyed and would always very much enjoy being in class). Bellatrix rushed into class late (a common occurrence, understandable seeing as she lived a good 20 minutes away from the school) looking even more disheveled than usual, and Hermione shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

Though, if she thought simply being in a room with Bellatrix was awkward, sitting next to her during chemistry was  _ torture _ . Bellatrix seemed just as embarrassed as she was, and jumped whenever they happened to touch accidentally, and practically ran out of the classroom when the bell rang. 

The rest of the week dragged on in much the same way, the most interesting thing being the english presentations (which they had pulled off perfectly and without a hitch- Harry and Ron, somehow, managed to scrape together something that wasn’t a total trainwreck). 

Hermione still really didn’t know how she felt about the whole thing- there was no denying that she had  _ wanted _ to kiss Bellatrix, had wanted it very much, and she still felt her face heat up whenever she saw the girl, but- but she had never actually liked a girl before. She knew, of course, that being gay was a thing in this world, how could she  _ not _ , but she’d never thought of it as something that  _ she  _ could be. 

Now, though, she wasn’t too sure.

How could she be sure when her heart sped up far too much whenever she was around Bellatrix?

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“What did you get for number 5?”

Hermione jumped when her lab partner talked to her for the first time in 2 weeks. “Er. Potassium.”

“Thanks.”

She gave her a sidelong glance. Despite the other girl’s relatively calm demeanor, her fingers were clenched tightly around her pencil while her foot tapped incessantly. Hermione drew in a deep breath.

“Look-”

“Listen-”

They stared at each other for a moment, not sure what to do now that both of them had spoken at once. “You go,” Hermione finally said.

“I- listen, I- don’t want you to get the wrong impression. I wasn’t- I didn’t intend to make you uncomfortable.”

Well, she certainly made her uncomfortable. Though not, Hermione thought, in the way she was insinuating.

“You didn’t! Don’t worry, you- no, you didn’t make me uncomfortable, don’t be- don’t be ridiculous-”

Bellatrix seemed to relax, so Hermione figured she must’ve gotten the point across, and decided it would be in her best interests to shut up before she said anything embarrassing.

“Now, listen up, class!”

Hermione immediately snapped out of her haze (where she totally hadn’t been looking at Bellatrix, nope, not at all) and turned her head to the front of the classroom, where Slughorn was standing and waiting for everyone to start paying attention. After a few halfhearted glances in the direction of Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil, who were very clearly on their phones and messaging each other from across the room, he cleared his throat again.

“Alright. Now. Let me just pull something up on the screen….”

Even Hermione, who usually had no problems with her teachers, had to suppress a groan as Slughorn began the extraordinarily frustrating process of setting up the projector. Every single time, he seemed to have to figure it out all over again. After a couple of minutes in which the class began talking again, sensing that nothing important would be happening soon, he got everything set up.

“Now. As you can see from the google classroom page, we will be starting a new project! Now, now, there’s no need to sound so excited, it’s a fun one!”

Hermione privately thought that her classmates didn’t consider any project fun, no matter what it was, but kept this opinion to herself.

“You’ll be building your own molecule! You’ll have to work on this at home, but I will be providing any necessary supplies if you need them. The information’s all on classroom, I don’t have time to explain before the bell rings-”

Lavender Brown’s hand shot up suddenly, and Hermione thought she might’ve never seen her so excited to ask a question during class before. “Mr. Slughorn? Will we be able to choose our partners?”

Slughorn chuckled. “How did you know you were going to be working with partners? Just intuitive, I guess.”  _ Does he really not know that she looked it up on her phone? _ “No, you won’t get to choose, it’ll be with your lab partner.”

Lavender pouted and sunk lower in her seat, causing Pansy Parkinson to glower at her from the seat next to her. Hermione would almost feel bad for her if Parkinson weren’t such a horrible person herself- actually, as much as she disliked Lavender, she’d prefer her over Parkinson. She was known for hanging out with the Death Eaters and sucking up to Draco Malfoy, and, clearly, she was after him for the money that the Malfoy’s had pouring out of their ears, because Draco Malfoy, as most of the student body would agree, had no attractive qualities at all whatsoever. And while Lavender was indifferent at best and extremely passive aggressive at worst, Parkinson was just outright  _ mean _ and Hermione considered herself lucky to have never interacted with her directly.

It hit Hermione a moment late that she would be working with Bellatrix. The bell rang, and before she could race out of class like she normally did, Hermione grabbed her sleeve.

For a moment, both of them sat frozen in horror- Hermione at the fact that she’d just  _ reached out and grabbed Bellatrix Black’s sleeve _ , and Bellatrix because- well, probably because no one had ever dared to just touch her casually, and the only time they’d ever purposefully come in contact was when they were dancing at homecoming (and, of course, during the Natural Selection Incident, but as they did not speak of that ever that didn’t really count). 

Hermione snatched her hand away. “Um. We should. Exchange phone numbers, or something. For the project.”

_ Oh, god. I shouldn’t have asked that, she’ll say no and it’ll be even worse- _

“Sure.”

Still in kind of a panicked haze, Hermione scrambled to get her phone out of her bag.

A minute later, she left the classroom, one more contact stored in her phone and an irritating heat still spreading across her face.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

During lunch, her phone buzzed from where it was sitting next to her on the table. Before she could reach for it, Ginny leaned over and caught a glimpse of the screen.

“Hermione, why are you getting extremely ominous text messages from Bellatrix Black?”

“What do you mean, ominous?” Hermione demanded, snatching her phone away.

_ Bellatrix: _

_ Hello. _

Okay, yes, Hermione had to admit, that was ominous. 

“How the bloody hell did you get her number?” Harry frowned, leaning forward to look at her past Ginny (who he was, apparently, still not speaking to- or, more accurately,  _ she _ was not speaking to  _ him _ after he danced with Cho Chang at homecoming).

“We’re working on a project in physics, I figured I should get her number so we could communicate.”

Ron’s eyes bugged out of his head. “And she just gave it to you? She must really like you.”

_ I’m not sure she does _ , Hermione thought briefly.

Fred gasped. “Bellatrix Black? Liking someone? Perish the thought.”

“Oh, shush,” Hermione scolded, turning back to her phone.

_ Hermione: _

_ Hi! _

_ Bellatrix: _

_ When would you like to meet for the project? We could probably work at my house, I am sure we have all of the necessary supplies to complete it. _

Hermione struggled to not raise an eyebrow at the formal text. She knew she wasn’t much better, but even  _ she _ didn’t use punctuation.

_ Hermione: _

_ Sure! I’m not free after school but i can come around 5 if you want _

_ Bellatrix: _

_ Fine. _

Hermione almost shuddered at the passive aggressiveness practically dripping from that word, even though she knew Bellatrix probably didn’t mean it that way and was just not practiced at all whatsoever in the art of social interaction, much less over text messages.

“You look unsettled,” George commented. “Has she threatened you with murder yet?”

“What? No, don’t be ridiculous. Why would she do that?”

Angelina shrugged. “She wouldn’t. But you have to admit, that girl is really scary sometimes.”

“Remember when she was still friends with the Death Eaters?” Neville reminded them. “It was horrible. If you think they’re bad now, it’s nothing compared to what they did when she was with them.”

“Well,” Ginny frowned. “Not really. They’ve gotten much bigger and more capable of beating people up since then.”

“Yeah, but Bellatrix was the creative one. Now they just beat people up in the hallways and rely on Mr. Riddle to get them out,” Alicia said. Everyone at the table shuddered at the mention of Mr. Riddle- he was the assistant principal at the school, and he was  _ terrifying _ . He didn’t get along with Mr. Dumbledore, the principal, and actively tried to stop whatever he was doing. He was the coach for the football team, and  _ always _ got his star players out of trouble when they inevitably beat people up in the hallways (although, to be fair, some of that may not have been due to him- their parents being wealthy certainly contributed). The majority of the student body mockingly called him Voldemort, french for “flight of death”, because of the way people felt like they were moments away from dying while in his presence. (No one was sure where this name had come from- some people said it was the result of an especially witty french student, but more said it had come from Madame Delacour, the french teacher, who got fired up whenever she heard about Riddle and anything associated with him). And he hated Harry with a passion for reasons no one could quite explain- all they knew is that he started glowering whenever he was passing him in the hall, and handed Harry detentions like they were candies (and, while Harry was often deserving of detention, in most of the cases with Mr. Riddle, they were unwarranted).

“Well she doesn’t do any of that anymore, right?” Hermione asked. “Maybe she realized it was wrong.”

Neville shrugged. “I dunno. No one’s got any idea why they fell out. Could be that, but somehow I doubt it.”

From the corner of the table, Luna looked up from her book, looked like she was about to say something, then seemed to decide against it and put her head back down. Luna was an interesting person- she didn’t talk much, but when she did, she was usually terrifyingly  _ right _ about everything, even if it should be something she’d know nothing about. The fact that she’d had something to say about Bellatrix was… interesting, to say the least. Hermione wanted desperately to ask what it was, but also knew that if Luna felt that it should be withheld, it probably should.

Despite the general view that Luna was crazy, no one ever argued with her.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If Hermione had thought just being parked outside of the Black manor was overwhelming, being inside of it was even worse. An honest to god Butler greeted them at the door before she found herself guided through an entrance hall that could probably fit the entire Weasley family and up an elegant staircase that looked like it belonged in a Disney movie. 

After the original wonder at the house faded away, Hermione found herself with a growing sense of unease. It just seemed so- cold. She remembered thinking, the last time she’d been here, that she would’ve been afraid to so much as breathe in this house, and this certainly cemented that. It felt more like a museum than a home, and Hermione could find no sign that anyone actually  _ lived _ there. 

Hermione realized they had been climbing for a while, and looked up at Bellatrix. “How many floors does this have?”

“5.”

_ Jesus Christ. _

“We’ve been up at least 4-”

“I’m on the top.”

Unbidden, Harry’s voice muttering “That’s what she said” sprung up in her head, and she pushed it down with an eye roll. She was spending far too much time with him.

Bellatrix must be in really good shape, Hermione found herself thinking as they finally got to the top floor. She was slightly out of breath and her backpack had never felt heavier.

There was a door to the right of the staircase with a painted wooden “B” on it. The “B” had a couple of chips in the paint and a couple of splinters were sticking out, and the door looked nowhere near as new as the rest of the house. Instead of going into what she was assuming was Bellatrix’s bedroom, they made a left and Bellatrix pushed open a much more nondescript door.

Bellatrix’s… study? Was, simply put,  _ messy _ . A large (and surprisingly clean) desk took up a lot of the room, with shelves and crates with papers spilling out of them lined the walls. Somewhere underneath that, Hermione thought she saw some sketches lining the walls (that were actually pretty decent, dare she say amazing) along with photos, mostly of herself and two girls that Hermione assumed were her sisters. The room looked like a barely contained explosion and was absolutely nothing like the rest of the house, which was orderly and neat and clean.

Which, Hermione realized, may have been the point. She could appreciate the idea that inside of this immaculate, well kept house with its golden fountain and marble floors there was a place that looked like a cyclone had just blown through. And Bellatrix, with her unruly hair and tousled appearance, fit right in.

They sat down at the desk, which, on closer inspection, had ink stains and was just as chipped as the door, and got to work.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“We’re done!” Hermione crowed, sinking back into her chair. Bellatrix groaned softly and slumped down onto the desk, her forehead hitting the wood with a soft  _ thud _ .

Apparently, building a molecule was  _ hard _ . It had broken apart a couple of times as they were making it, but they had finally managed to get it together. 

“Well, that only took us-” Hermione glanced at her phone, only to do a double take. “How is it already 9:00?!”

Bellatrix’s head shot up from where it was resting on the desk. “Oh, shit.”

Within 5 minutes, Hermione was packed up and being ushered out of the door. Wondering why all of her interactions with Bellatrix seemed to end hurriedly and abruptly, she raised a hand to say goodbye as the great wooden doors closed, and then sighed, and headed out to her car.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so... thoughts?


	5. November, Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo guess who got writers block? 
> 
> Sorry that was a bit of a longer wait than the first few chapters, but I got really stuck on November while i was studying for a competition- but I'm back with a new chapter! Hope you guys enjoy this one!
> 
> I do not own the Harry Potter books or characters

For many students, or at least the ones living in this particular part of the world, the month of November meant drastically colder weather, scraping frost off of cars, and the possibility (however distant) of snow. It meant the start of a new quarter in school, and the start of winter sports, and wearing heavy coats to school.

For one Hermione Granger at Hogwarts High, November that year meant her first interaction with the Death Eaters, an attempted (and vaguely successful) heartfelt conversation, and the most awkward Thanksgiving dinner she had ever experienced.

The first of these occasions happened during the first week of November in the middle of a crowded hallway before her chemistry class. Sometime after their project, Hermione and Bellatrix had taken to walking together from english to chemistry- not talking, of course, because Hermione supposed that might’ve been asking a bit much from Bellatrix, who had, according to Harry, never walked with anyone in the hallway in recent years.

“Hey, kid.” Hermione perked up at the rough voice coming from her right, which was followed by a loud clang. She whirled around to see a big, burly boy (who she knew to be named Rodolphus Lestrange) shoving someone into a locker.

Hermione knew she should just keep walking. Her friends had advised her as much- Ginny often admonished Harry for getting himself in trouble with them, and he got sent to the nurse more often than anyone had any right to because he’d been outnumbered in an altercation. Ron was nearly as bad, and even Ginny and Neville were known for standing up to them on occasion. She’d passed them harassing kids in the halls before, but never without any of her friends with her, and suddenly she was filled with an overwhelming urge to-

Rodolphus grabbed a camera that the kid had been holding and laughed before snapping it in half. Even from where she had stopped across the hallway, she could see his eyes welling with tears.

“Hey, leave him alone, will you?”

Ignoring the horrified, “ _ Hermione _ ,” that came from behind her, along with the hand that came with it to try to keep her back, she stormed up to Rodolphus and stood in front of the kid. 

Rodolphus laughed, along with the other two boys with him, and Hermione realized that this may have been a very bad idea. 

Well, too late now.

“What you gonna do to stop us?” sneered the boy on the left. She vaguely recognized him as one of the so called “cronies” of the Death Eaters- the stupid ones (at least the ones that were stupider than the others) that followed around the others blindly. 

Still doing her best to ignore Bellatrix, who was standing behind the boys with an expression bordering on exasperation and desperation, she scowled up at them, but didn’t answer. What  _ could _ she do about it? She certainly couldn’t fight them, and if she turned them in to a teacher, even a good one like McGonagall, they wouldn’t get in trouble with Mr. Riddle pulling the strings.

She nudged the kid next to her. “Run.”

He ran, but the b”oys paid no attention to him, instead electing to turn on her.

She thought her stomach might cave in when Rodolphus through the first punch, and so she did something that she never thought she would do in her life.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_ “You broke his nose?!” _

Hermione sank lower in her seat. “Yes.”

Harry cheered and whooped. “Excellent! How did it feel.”

Hermione examined her hand. “I dunno. Good. Kind of hurt, though.”

After she’d punched him in the face, she and Rodolphus had been ushered to the nurse’s office. An exasperated McGonagall had showed up to bail her out, and Riddle hadn’t done anything to stop it, likely sensing that he wouldn’t be able to punish her without punishing Rodolphus. When she asked McGonagall why she’d gotten her out of trouble, she responded with, “It was time someone did it,” and then gave her a rare smile and a look that bordered on pride.

The nurse had checked her ribs and hand, bandaging up the latter a bit just in case. Rodolphus’s parents had been called and he’d been brought to the doctor’s office. Hermione had been allowed to return to class, where she spent the entire time trying not to listen to Bellatrix hissing in her ear about “reckless” and “why did you do that” and “what the bloody hell were you thinking” the entire time. She almost missed the Bellatrix that never talked to her during class. 

“I bet it felt good!” Fred grinned.

“Did ol’ Roddy get sent to the hospital?” George asked.

Hermione sighed. “Yeah.”

Ron crowed in delight, and even Angelina, Alicia, and Katie looked pleased.

“I heard the other two ran for it when you punched him!” Ginny said, leaning in towards her. 

“No, but at that point, people were screaming for a teacher, and even they aren’t dumb enough to try something then.”

“Er- excuse me?”

Hermione turned around to find the kid she’d helped earlier. “Oh! Hello!”

His eyes widened. “Hi! I’m Colin! I think what you did was wicked cool, no one’s ever punched Rodolphus in the face before! And, er, thanks for helping me out back there.”

Ignoring Harry and Ron’s snickering, she smiled. “Well, I’m always happy to help.”

He grinned, then, after a brief moment of hesitation, leaned forward to hug her, before running for it.

“Oh, he’s adorable,” Ginny cooed. “He’s a freshman, isn’t he?”

“He must be,” Ron frowned. “He’s so tiny.”

Another boy walked up behind Harry. “Hey, are you Hermione Granger?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, I’m Ernie MacMillan. Is it true you tore Rodolphus Lestrange’s nuts off?”

Harry, Ron, Fred and George howled with laughter, and Hermione groaned, and buried her face in her hands.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next day, Rodolphus Lestrange came back to school looking frankly ridiculous with bandages layered over his nose. Whenever she saw him or any of his friends in the halls, they shot her dirty looks, while the rest of the school seemed to suddenly know who she was, and, if they didn’t, they soon did through friends pointing her out. 

“I still think it was incredibly stupid.”

Hermione sighed and turned to the side. “Well, it worked, didn’t it?”

Bellatrix scowled. “You could’ve been hurt. You  _ were _ hurt. How’s your stomach?”

“You could’ve helped, you know,” she snapped back. “I seem to recall you standing back and doing nothing.”

“What could I have done? I’ve seen what Rodolphus can do when he’s angry, and now he’s angry at  _ you _ .”

“Why did you stop hanging out with him? From what I’ve heard, you two were friends.”

Bellatrix froze. “Does it matter? I stopped. Now, let’s just- forget about it, alright?”

Hermione frowned at her for a bit before nodding. She wasn’t  _ mad _ at Bellatrix, per se, but she did wonder what exactly had transpired between her and the Death Eaters.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“What are you guys doing for break?” Harry asked.

“What do you think? We’re doing our family dinner, couple of our brothers are coming over and we’ll all have to share rooms,” Fred complained.

Harry perked up. “Which brothers?”

“Bill’s not coming,” Ron grunted. “He’s busy, apparently there was a big problem at his bank. But Charlie’ll be there!”

“And Percy,” George grumbled.

“Your other brothers?” Hermione asked.

Ginny leaned in towards her. “Yeah. Bill’s the oldest, Harry’s practically idolized him since he was 5, probably because he’s got a ponytail and an earring. Charlie’s next, he works with dangerous animals in the wild and does documentaries on them, and Percy’s- well, Percy’s probably the most boring person I’ve ever met, and the most uptight.”

“Probably? Definitely,” Fred said. “No one could be more uptight than Percy.”

“Or boring,” George added. “He wrote an essay on the peculiarities of the subway system when he was 16,  _ for fun _ . It was 13 pages!”

“Yeah, Percy’s weird. But he’ll be in his room the whole time anyway doing work, we don’t have to see him much,” Ron assured them.

“Hermione? Neville? Luna? You guys free the night before Thanksgiving?”

“Should be,” Hermione said. “Why?”

“Harry holds a dinner for all of us every year,” Neville told her. “You barely even have to ask anymore, mate, everyone knows it’s happening.”

Harry put his hands up in mock surrender. “Just checking. My mom wanted me to ask.” Hermione smiled at the mention of Lily Potter- she’d only been over to Harry’s house a couple of times, but his mother was one of the nicest people she knew.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Hey, Bellatrix, what are you doing for Thanksgiving?”

Next to her, Bellatrix shrugged. “Ordering some pizza and enjoying an empty house, I suppose. Mother and father are taking my sisters to visit our Uncle for the week. Our butler might be a bit insulted, but the cook is going with the rest of the family anyway, so it’s not like there’ll be much food.”

Hermione frowned. “But- aren’t they taking you with them?”

“Oh, no. They like to avoid spending time with me as much as possible, and the feeling’s mutual,” she scowled. “I’m not the biggest fan of them.”

Her eyes widened. “That’s horrible!”

“Well, it’s not like I want to go, anyway. And besides- is that smoke?”

“What?”   
  


“Smoke, I smell smoke, where- oh, god, Finnegan.”

Hermione opened her mouth to ask what she was talking about, turning around to look at the back of the room in the process. 

“Oh,  _ god _ .”

She shared a quick glance with Bellatrix, then they both shot up. “Mr. Slughorn, there’s a fire!” Hermione called.

“Finnegan, get your useless ass away from the fire, dumbass!” Bellatrix called.

Within seconds, the class was in an uproar, and smoke began billowing out of the flask that one Seamus Finnegan had left on the desk. He turned around in surprise, and the flames shot up into his face, singeing his eyebrows. 

Bellatrix reached over and grabbed a water bottle off of Daphne Greengrass’s lab table and started to toss it onto the fire.

“No, wait, that has-”

The flames, instead of going out, jumped even higher, and Seamus’s friend Dean grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him away.

“-alcohol,” Daphne finished, wincing. Bellatrix gave her an exasperated look and chucked the bottle back at her head. 

“Here, this is just water,” Hermione said, handing her her own water.

“ _ Thank _ you,” Bellatrix grumbled, tossing the water over the flames and succeeding, mostly, in getting everything put out. “ _ Honestly _ .”

Just then, the sprinklers started going off.

“Wonderful timing,” Dean Thomas said, sounding a little breathless and a lot scared shitless. 

From the corner of the classroom, shrieking could be heard as Lavender Brown and Pansy Parkinson desperately tried to save their clothes and their phones as makeup dripped down their faces.

Bellatrix halfheartedly kicked a desk. “Just wonderful.”

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Hey, um, Bellatrix?”

It was the next day, and they were sitting back in chemistry with a slightly shell shocked class. Seamus and Dean were sitting somewhere else, seeing as their lab table was… indisposed at the moment. 

“Mhm?”

“I was thinking, after yesterday.”

The corner of Bellatrix’s lip twitched. “Thinking of getting some fireproof clothes?”

Hermione couldn’t stop the small snort that came out of her mouth- this was one of the only times, if not the first time, that she had ever heard Bellatrix make a joke on  _ purpose _ (the comments that she made that Hermione found funny were usually a result of a lack of knowledge on how to interact with other human beings rather than an actual desire to be funny. But she was pretty sure, this time, that the joke was intentional).

“No, though it’s not a bad idea. No, um- I was talking about what we were talking about before… that.”

“Oh.”

When it was clear that she would not be saying anything else, Hermione started up again. “Well- I was wondering, would you maybe want to come over to my house for dinner? On- on Thanksgiving?”

Oh, no. Oh, she should not have asked that. She’d thought about it for all of yesterday, and had even gone so far as to ask her parents, but she was realizing now that she may have been overstepping.

Too late now!

Bellatrix was still staring at her in shock or in disbelief, or maybe both, Hermione couldn’t tell- the dark haired girl had a familiar closed off look on her face that had slowly fallen away as they’d gotten to know each other better.

“Er- Bellatrix?”

Still nothing.

“I- I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have- I’m sorry.”

Bellatrix’s face finally decided on an expression- panic. “No! I mean- no,” she said, lowering her voice and ignoring the odd looks from their classmates. “I- what-  _ why _ ?”

“What do you mean why?”

“I  _ mean _ , why are you- doing this? Inviting me over for dinner, being nice to me,  _ why are you doing it _ ?”

Hermione gaped at her. “What- why do I need a reason? Bellatrix, I just- you said you didn’t have anywhere to go for Thanksgiving, I just thought you might like to come over-”

“So it’s pity?”

“ _ No _ . Is it so hard to believe that I might want you to be there?”

Bellatrix tilted her head in confusion.  _ Oh, for goodness’ sake _ .

“Look, just- get back to me, alright?” Bellatrix, still looking completely bewildered, nodded, just as the bell rang.

Instead of running out like she usually did, Bellatrix sat frozen in place for a moment before shaking herself out of it. “I- right. I should, um- go. Goodbye.”

Still feeling vaguely apprehensive, Hermione could only sit and watch as Bellatrix seized her bag and rushed out of the door even faster than usual.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts? Leave them below!


	6. November: Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which there are dinners and awkward conversations.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm baaack! man have i been swamped with school work lately. but i figured, hey, it's been about a week?? maybe?? since the last time i posted so why not do it today?

“I want to  _ die _ ,” Ginny groaned as she flopped down on Hermione’s bed. “Percy’s been driving us crazy, and mom’s driving  _ Charlie _ crazy. She expects him to settle down already, but I’m pretty sure Charlie’s not interested in anything except hanging out in the wild with animals that can kill him. And now I have to limit my time in the bathroom even more cause I’ve got two extra boys living in the house.”

“That sounds really… not fun,” Hermione frowned, sitting down next to her. “Sometimes I wish I’d had siblings, but now I really don’t.”

“Ugh. Don’t get me wrong, I love them, but they drive me up the walls sometimes.”

They sat on the bed and talked for a while, complaining about teachers and school and boys until the conversation died down for a little bit.

_ Ding! _

Hermione halfheartedly picked her head up at the sound of her phone going off. “I’ve got it, here- why does Bellatrix keep texting you and why does she not know how to text?”

This got her up- she sat up and grabbed the phone. 

_ Bellatrix:  _

_ I can come. _

Hermione’s heart did a little skip, and she breathed out a sigh of relief. Bellatrix hadn’t taken that long to answer- it was only later that day, after all. Still, Hermione had been stressing about it all day, and it was nice to know she could, and wanted, to come.

“Why does she talk to you, anyway?”

“Huh?”

“I mean,” Ginny said, getting up on one elbow. “It’s  _ Bellatrix _ . I’ve barely ever heard her speak a full sentence before, and all of a sudden she’s  _ texting you _ , and you can’t say you’re working on a project because I know for a fact that you’re not. I didn’t even know she had a phone!”

Hermione collapsed back down on her back. “We’re… friends, I guess.”

“But  _ why _ ? Bellatrix doesn’t do  _ friends _ .”

She looked up at Ginny, debating with herself in her head. Eventually, she decided…

Why not?

“Look, you can’t tell anyone this, alright?”

Ginny shot up suddenly. “Ooh! What happened?”

She bit her lip. “Remember how, at homecoming, she scared McLaggen away?”

“Yeah. Nice of her.”

“We, um- went out to the hallway. And we- danced. And, um. And I almost kissed her.”

Silence.

“Ginny?”

“You- you what?!”

“I- well, it wasn’t all me, she was leaning in too, at least I  _ think _ she was-”

“Wait, but- so you’re-” Ginny broke off, waving her hand around. “Y’know.”

“Oh, I don’t know! Everything is just so  _ weird _ , but I like her, and I think she likes me, so- well-”

“Huh.”

Ginny sat up and leaned her head on her hand. “Huh.”

A few minutes passed, and Ginny flopped back down on the bed. “ _ Huh _ .”

“Is that all you’re going to say?”

Ginny rolled over to look at her. “Did you know? I mean, did you know that you were-”

“No.”

“ _ Huh _ . Can I just say, Bellatrix Black is an… interesting person to have for your gay awakening?”

“Oh, shush. You can’t deny that she’s pretty.”

“No, I s’pose not.”

They sat in silence for a while before Ginny rolled back over onto her back. “So why’s she texting you?”

“Oh, shit!” She grabbed her phone, unlocking it and opening up the messenger app. “Thanks for the reminder, I almost forgot!”

_ Hermione: _

_ Great!  _

“So…?”

“Oh! Right. Well, I, er- invited her over. To. My house.”

“Oh?” Ginny waggled her eyebrows.

“Not like that!” Hermione gasped. “No, just for- for dinner- and, er-”

She was really starting to regret telling Ginny- she was laughing her ass off now. “It’s not funny!”

“Oh, it is, though! You  _ invited her over for dinner _ ?!”

Hermione sputtered for a bit, before deciding that the best course of action would be to shove a pillow in Ginny’s face, then cover her own in mortification.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Hey Hermione! Come in, here, oh, that looks great, I’ll give it to mom, where- oh hey Nev, here, let me take that- mom? Could you come help me for a sec?”

Hermione blinked in surprise as she took in the chaos in the Potter’s house. Fred, George, Ron, and Ginny were already there, and Neville and Luna were walking in the door after her. She could smell something cooking in the background as Lily Potter came out of the kitchen to grab the pie her mom had baked and a plate of cookies from Neville. 

“Thank you, dear,” Mrs. Potter smiled. “I’ll take this in to James, he’s finishing up with dinner now.”

“Thanks!”

“Here, the dining room’s through here, hey guys, Hermione, Luna and Neville are here!”

The Weasleys at the table cheered, Ginny giving her a small smirk. Ginny had been near insufferable in whatever classes they shared with Bellatrix over the last few days, especially gym, where she’d paired up with Bellatrix a couple of times.

Still, she slid in between the redheaded girl and Ron, rolling her eyes at the twins’ mock outrage that she did not come to sit on their side of the table. 

After Harry had come back with Angelina, Katie, and Alicia, they all settled down, and James and Lily came in with the food.

“This looks really good, Mr. Potter,” Hermione said appreciatively.

James beamed at her. “Oh, call me James. ‘Mr. Potter’ makes me sound old.”

“You are old,” Lily teased. “Nearly 50, remember?”

“Well, if I’m old, then what are you?”

Before Lily could answer, the doorbell rang. Harry frowned. “Who’s that?”

“Oh, did we not tell you?” Lily asked in mock surprise. “I’ll go get it.”

A minute later, she came back with two men. Both were in shabby looking clothes, but one was exuberant, with wild, coarse hair, and the other was more withdrawn with a set of dark scars over his face. Harry’s face lit up and he leapt up from his chair, embracing both of them.

“Hey, kid!” grinned one, brushing his black hair from his face. “Dear god, you grow every time I see you- hey, Weasleys! Boys, how’re the pranks going? And- oh, who’s this?”

“Oh! Sirius, this is Hermione, she just moved here this summer. Hermione, this is Sirius, and this is Remus,” Harry told her as everyone started settling down into their seats again.

Sirius nodded towards her and headed towards his seat. “So what’s for dinner?”

Lily raised an eyebrow at him and gestured towards the table. “Turkey.”

Remus smirked. “Sit down, Sirius, come on.” Sirius grumbled a bit, but plopped down at the table. 

After dinner, they all retired to the living room, where Hermione found herself sitting next to Sirius while Ron and Remus played chess and the rest of the party chattered aimlessly.

“So, you’re a new friend?” Sirius asked, turning away from the chess game.

“Oh, yeah. You’re Harry’s godfather, right? I’ve heard about you.”

He grinned. “Aw, nice to know the kid talks about me. Yeah, I’m his godfather- Sirius Black, at your service.”

Her eyes widened. “Black?”

His smile dropped. “Yeah, yeah. My crazy relatives- don’t worry, I don’t associate with them, usually.”

“No, I mean- you’re Bellatrix’s cousin?”

“Yeah, you know her?”

“Yeah, she’s- a friend, sort of.”

His eyebrow raised. “Really? Little Bella, making friends? I haven’t seen her in years, but from what Harry tells me she doesn’t talk much.”

“No, she doesn’t.”

“Huh. How’s she doing? Last time I saw her- well.”

She frowned. “What?”

Sighing, he shook his head. “Never mind. Anyway, she’s-”

“Yes!” Ron crowed, throwing his hands in the air. 

Remus dropped his head in his hands. “How? I- how?”

“Mate, I’m afraid little Ronnie is just better at chess than you,” Sirius grinned. Ron’s ears blushed a bright red at the nickname but still couldn’t wipe the pleased expression off of his face at the praise.

And, though she was sure she must be imagining it, she thought Sirius might have avoided her for the rest of the evening.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Hermione! Your friend’s here!”

Hermione felt a jolt of adrenaline and she scrambled off of her bed, managing to get downstairs in near record time, running an anxious hand through her hair at the same time. She had absolutely no idea what to expect with Bellatrix and her parents- the only time they had met, Bellatrix had all but fled at the mention of staying for dinner.

She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that Bellatrix had headed her warning and hadn’t worn anything too elegant- she had no idea what the Blacks expected their children to wear to dinners, but she could only assume that what she currently had on- a simple black shirt with black jeans to match- wasn’t up to her parent’s normal standards. After all, the family owned a formal ballroom (as Bellatrix had mentioned to her in one of their conversations, which were becoming much more personal and much more frequent).

“Bellatrix! Come in- leave your shoes by the door, and- oh, well, I was going to ask to get your coat, but- aren’t you cold? It’s freezing outside- close the door, here, let’s get you into the dining room, we’re almost done with dinner-”

“Hermione, dear, go help your father set the table. Hello, Bellatrix, I’m Hermione’s mother, why don’t you sit down?”

Bellatrix, looking completely and utterly overwhelmed, allowed herself to be led to the dining room table. From the kitchen, Hermione could hear her, likely dredging up some long forgotten etiquette lessons, saying, “Oh, this is a wonderful house, Mrs. Granger, I just love your dining table.”

Hermione shivered. Somehow, the polite, charming voice Bellatrix was using was just-  _ wrong _ . Bellatrix didn’t talk like that- she spoke in short, curt sentences to people she didn’t know, scathing insults to people she didn’t like, and, on the rare occasion, softer, longer and more insightful and personal conversations with- well, not with people she liked, there weren’t many of those- but with Hermione, at least.

And Hermione thought that, at this point, there was no denying that Bellatrix did like her, though why this was or in what way she still couldn’t tell.

Once the table had been set and the food put out, they all settled down to eat. 

It was almost surreal, eating dinner with Bellatrix sitting across the table. She supposed it might have been awkward if her family made a big deal out of Thanksgiving- but, while they always cooked a nice, large meal, it had never really been considered a “family” thing, and they’d had people over before. But still- Hermione had never had a friend over for dinner (well, she’d never exactly  _ had _ friends, but that was another matter), and so it was only a matter of time before her parents began trying to talk to Bellatrix.

And Bellatrix already looked- not uncomfortable, but disconcerted. She supposed this dining room would be quite a bit smaller than she was used to and- did the Blacks do family dinners?

Time to stall.

“So how’s work going? I haven’t gotten the chance to ask yet, I’ve been so busy- how are the new patients?”

Throughout this question, Bellatrix’s eyes had widened and she began nudging her with her foot under the table. Hermione shot her a look and mouthed “ _ What? _ ”

Her parents noticed none of this, and her dad smiled. “Oh, it’s going great. Lots of kids coming in, I think some of them might be old enough to go to your school, Hermione. Do you know Dennis and Colin Creevey?”

Oh. She knew Colin- he was the boy she’d defended from Rodolphus. She could see Bellatrix knew this too, because she stopped her campaign of stepping on her foot to glare at her a bit.

“No, I don’t think I know him. He must not be in any of my classes.”

Her parents, fortunately, did not know about the Hallway Incident. Unlike the entire student body.

“And I understand you’re in some of Hermione’s classes, Bellatrix?” her mother asked, taking a sip from her wine. 

Well, stalling failed.

Bellatrix seemed to lose her voice for a moment before clearing her throat. “Y-Yes, we’re in a lot of classes together.”

Hmm. Head ducked down to her plate, tight grip on her fork, tense shoulders. Bellatrix didn’t get nervous about much- something had to be wrong.

“Yeah, remember she’s my lab partner in chem? I went over to her place a few weeks ago for that project.”

Her dad’s face brightened. “Ah, right. The molecule. Well, Bellatrix, you must be smart, you two got a pretty good grade on that.”

“Wha- I. Yes, I suppose- er.” Bellatrix seemed to be racking her brain for something to say, before finally settling on, “Yes, well, your daughter is also very smart, she’s giving me a run for my money for top scores in class.”

“Oh! You’re top of your class?” Her mother ran an appraising look over Bellatrix. “Well, your parents must be very proud.”

Bellatrix tilted her gaze back down to her plate. “Yes, I suppose they are.”

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After an increasingly awkward dinner which mostly consisted of conversation between her and her parents with Bellatrix giving occasional one word responses to any questions, she pulled Bellatrix upstairs to her room.

“So what’s wrong?”

Bellatrix's eyes snapped up to meet hers. “What do you mean? Nothing’s wrong.”

Hermione scoffed. “Sure. Just- I’m sorry if they made you- uncomfortable, or anything, or- and what was that? When you were nudging my foot.”

“I- just- I didn’t think- you- I thought they’d be angry. At you. For- for talking without being spoken to first.”

Her eyebrows shot up on her face at this. “You mean your parents don’t let you- talk to them? At all?”

Bellatrix shrugged noncommittally. “Well, I’m sure you’ve guessed by now that they- aren’t the greatest.”

Hermione suspected that that was a vast understatement, but didn’t comment or dwell on the thought too long. Because on closer inspection, Bellatrix looked dangerously close to tears, and more vulnerable than she’d ever seen her.

The other girl tensed up at first when she put a hand on her shoulder, and Hermione feared for a moment that she might run. But then her shoulders slumped, and the next thing she knew, she was enveloping her in a hug- a bit awkward at first, as Bellatrix was stiff as a board and seemed a bit out of practice with the whole concept of  _ being hugged _ . 

But she didn’t run, and, really, that was all that mattered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> poor bella :'( she deserves a hug


	7. December, Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Luna is omniscient, and Bella tries (and fails) to find a radio station that isn't playing Christmas music.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow, two chapters in one weekend? must be a miracle! hope you guys enjoy this one!

_ “Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle-” _

_ Click. _

_ “I’m dreaming of a white Christmas-” _

_ Click. _

_ “It’s beginning to look a lot like-” _

“Oh, for fuck’s sake.”

Hermione stifled a giggle as Bellatrix turned the radio off altogether. They were both sat in Bellatrix’s car and on their way out to eat at some non-chain pizza place in the town.

“Don’t like Christmas music, I take it?”

Bellatrix scowled and gripped the steering wheel tighter. “I don’t have a  _ problem _ with Christmas music. But it’s the  _ first day of December _ . It’s just ridiculous at this point.”

“Oh, come on. People are just getting into the holiday spirit!”

“And I will join them.  _ When it is actually Christmas _ .”

Hermione smirked. “Grinch.”

“Never seen it, so that insult means nothing to me,  _ ha _ .”

“Wait. You’ve never seen the Grinch?”

Bellatrix scoffed. “Hermione, come on. Did you really think my parents watched Christmas movies with us?”

In the days following Thanksgiving, Bellatrix had begun to talk a bit more about her home life- not enough for Hermione to get a comprehensive picture, of course, because that would’ve been too easy, but enough to know that, no, she wouldn’t expect the Blacks to have family movie nights.

“Well. Now we know what we’re doing this weekend.”

Bellatrix groaned. “Do we have to?”

“Yes. No getting out of it.”

And, though Bellatrix scowled her heart out, Hermione could’ve sworn she saw a hint of a smile underneath.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“So if you add this part to the formula, it should be-”

“Oh! Ok, but so then this goes over there and-” Hermione cut short, realizing that the class had gone completely silent. 

Both she and Bellatrix looked up at the same time to find a tall, slightly awkward looking but clearly handsome boy standing at the door. “Um- I vos looking for Mr. Slughorn’s class?”

“Ah! Class, this is Viktor, he’s come here all the way from Bulgaria for an exchange trip- say hello, everyone!”

Viktor got what was perhaps the most enthusiastic “hello” a class of high schoolers had ever given. 

“Alright, why don’t you join in with one of the lab tables, I’ll let you pick.” Lavender Brown and Pansy Parkinson both perked up and batted their eyes at Viktor in what was perhaps the only time Hermione had ever seen them working together. Of course, this passed the moment he walked past their table, the two girls going back to glaring at each other as if it had been all the other’s fault.

To Hermione’s great surprise, Viktor pulled up a chair and put it right to the side of hers and Bellatrix’s lab table. “Hello. I am Viktor Krum.”

They both gaped for a moment, before Hermione noticed that he had extended his hand and it was hovering in the air between them rather awkwardly, and put her own out to meet it. “Hermione Granger. And this is Bellatrix.”

“Very nice to meet you both,” he smiled.

The three of them spent the rest of the period in silence, trying to follow along with Slughorn’s ramblings- Hermione was quite distracted, with Viktor stealing sidelong glances and Bellatrix resuming her usual position of staring longingly at the clock above the door and spinning a pencil around in her hand.

As the period drew to a close and everyone started packing up, Viktor tapped her on the arm. “Er- Herm-own-ninny?” Bellatrix hastily hid her snort behind a harsh cough. “I vos vondering- vould you like to accompany me to the movies this veekend?”

The pencil snapped.

Hermione’s eyes widened, feeling quite trapped between Viktor’s hopeful look and Bellatrix’s murderous glare. “Um. I- um.”

The bell rang.

And, taking a move straight from Bellatrix’s book, she ran for it, leaving the two sitting at the table and gaping at her retreating form.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Hey, Hermione. We wanted to ask-”

“We saw Black storming through the hallways earlier-”

“Looking like she was about to kill a bitch-”

“And since you’re literally her only friend, we thought you might know-”

“What was going on?”

Hermione groaned and looked between the twins. “I’ve got no idea. And for the record, that’s about the third time someone’s asked me about that today. Is it really that important why Bellatrix is so pissed?”

“Well, yeah,” Neville said. “I haven’t seen her this mad since we were in middle school and she broke Ernie MacMillan’s nose.”

_ Oh, god, I hope she doesn’t break Viktor’s nose _ , Hermione thought with a desperate sort of amusement. “Well, I’ve got no idea.”

“Hey, I saw her glaring at that exchange student during third period,” Harry said suddenly. “What’s his name? Viktor something? I saw him trying to talk to her and she looked really pissed off.”

“Yes, it has to do with Viktor. He’s tried taking something of hers,” Luna said absentmindedly, flipping a page in her book.

Ron frowned, pointing his fork at her. “You know something! What did he try to take?”

She said nothing. Hermione breathed out a sigh of relief- and then caught herself when Ginny gave her a funny look.

After lunch, she pulled her aside. “Alright, what happened?”

Hermione sighed. “Viktor asked me out. In chemistry.”

Ginny gaped at her for a moment, before bursting out laughing. “Oh, god! She’s  _ jealous _ ?! Oh, this is- this is too good. That’s amazing.”

She smacked her shoulder. “It is not amazing! He’s still waiting for an answer because I ran out of the classroom-” Ginny howled with laughter at this- “and now she’s probably going to kill him!”

Ginny didn’t answer, still too busy trying to catch her breath. “Oh, shut it.”

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Herm-own-ninny?”

“Viktor! I- hello! I’m so sorry for walking out-”

“It’s okay. May we talk?”

“Sure.”

Walking away from Ginny, who gave her a mischievous grin, she went to sit down next to Viktor. They were in french, one of the few classes in the day that she didn’t have with Bellatrix, and their teacher, Mme. Delacour, was busy handing out tests, so they had a bit of time at the beginning of the period.

“Your friend- Bellatrix? She is very… overprotective.”

Hermione’s stomach dropped. “Oh god. What did she do?”

“Nothing! She vos just- vell, I do not think that ve should go out after all.”

Her eyes narrowed. “What did she say?”

He gave her a guilty look. “I cannot say. But- I vould be happy to be friends? With you and the scary girl, if she vill allow it.”

“Oh, Viktor, that would be- yes, I would like that. Thank you.”

A rapping noise caught their attention. “Bonjour, class. I’ve given you back your petit examen, we are going to look that over now, please turn it to the front page-”

“Er- excuse me? Sorry to interrupt, but I’m looking for my sister.”

“Bill!” Ginny grinned. “Er- sorry, Mme Delacour.”

Their teacher raised an unimpressed eyebrow at her, then ran an appraising eye over Bill Weasley. His long red hair was pulled back in a ponytail, he had an earring that Hermione could’ve sworn had a shark tooth dangling off of it, and under his leather jacket she could spot some tattoos on his chest. 

“Yes, I got the message that Ms. Weasley would be leaving us early today. Get moving, please, so we can continue the lesson.”

Bill grinned. “Sorry, Ms. Delacour. I was rather distracted by the beauty standing at the front of the room.”

The class giggled, everyone suddenly becoming much more invested in what their teacher would say next. She only pursed her lips and gave him her famous glare, which had Bill’s smile wilting a bit. “The classroom is hardly a place for such distractions, non?”

“Oh, you’re absolutely right. I’d much rather be distracted in that coffee shop down the road. Say at 4:00?”

Over by her desk, Ginny looked absolutely gleeful, looking between her brother and her teacher with a wide grin on her face- much like the rest of the class.

No one failed to notice the slight blush on Mme. Delacour’s cheeks, nor the fact that her accent grew heavier when she said, “Per’aps.” The two spent a moment staring at each other before Delacour cleared her throat. “Yes, well. Ms. Weasley, I want test corrections by tomorrow. You may go.”

With one last grin, Bill grabbed his sniggering younger sister by the arm and walked out of the door.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Bellatrix!”

She ran to catch up to the shorter girl, grabbing her arm just as she started to open up the door to her car. “What?”

“I talked to Viktor during French today. He said you talked to him, and all of a sudden he was very reluctant to go out with me.”

Bellatrix bit her lip and shifted uncomfortably before wrenching her arm away. “Well, we had a talk. Not that kind, jeez, just- we came to an understanding. It’s not like I threatened him or anything.”

After studying Bellatrix’s face suspiciously, she concluded that she was- probably- not lying. 

“Alright. Hey, I was thinking-”

“I’m free at 4.”

“Ok. My mom was asking me-”

“I have to leave by 6. My youngest sister’s got some band concert thing she wants me to go to.”

Hermione perked up. “Can I come?”

“I- er- sure? I- sure, yes, of course, I- yep! Bye.” Still looking rather flustered, Bellatrix pulled away and got in her car.

“She doesn’t seem to be able to form complete sentences when you’re around.”

Hermione startled, relaxing when she saw that it was only Luna standing behind her. “Luna! You scared me.”

Luna hummed, toying with the straps of her backpack. “Sorry about that.”

“Er- what did you mean, when you said she’s not able to form complete sentences?”

“What, you haven’t noticed? Bellatrix is usually so put together, but she seems to loosen up when you’re around, don’t you think? It’s good. She could definitely use someone to make her nervous. Makes her seem more human, especially to herself.”

“Make her nervous?! I don’t make her nervous!”

“Oh, yes, you do. She thinks your eyes are pretty, I bet that’s it.”

“What- she- what?”

“Bellatrix is very lucky, I think. It’s not every day a feeling is reciprocated, though I doubt either of you have noticed yet.”

“Huh?”

“Oh, I have to go, my dad’s here!”

Smiling softly and seemingly forgetting completely about their conversation, Luna skipped off towards the woods.

Weird.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“So, er, is your sister in band?”

“Yeah. Plays the flute. She’s actually not that bad, though I can’t say the same for the rest of her classmates. I hope you’re not too attached to your eardrums.”

Hermione snorted. Those jokes were coming more and more frequently recently. Luna’s voice drifted into her head-  _ she seems to loosen up when you’re around, don’t you think? _ She shook it off. She had no idea how Luna had guessed that she had feelings for Bellatrix (although she shouldn’t have been surprised, either the blonde was really good at reading people or she was legitimately psychic), but if she was right about that- was she right about everything else? That- that Bellatrix liked  _ her? _ She glanced besides her to where Bellatrix was fidgeting with the radio, trying in vain to find a station that was playing music she liked (Bellatrix didn’t like most popular music and still thought it was too early for Christmas music, leaving their options extremely limited). She wondered if Bellatrix ever let anyone besides her sisters sit in her car, or come over to her house, or- or all of the other things they did together.

But- that didn’t mean she liked her, right? 

Right?

“Hey, so, um, listen- Cissy’s- well, you know people say I’m unapproachable? She’s worse. She’s a sweetheart, really, but no one sees that. And she doesn’t really know anyone outside of our family, so she might be a bit shocked to see you there.”

“Oh. Er- right. How old is she again?”

“12. The baby of the family. She’s cute, really, you’ll love her, unless she goes all ‘Ice Queen’ on- oh, here it is.”

Hermione had never been to the middle school before- it was a bit smaller than the high school, and didn’t look nearly as nice, but as far as public middle schools went, this one definitely could’ve been worse.

She felt strangely nervous walking through the doors of the cafeteria with Bellatrix, surrounded by parents, bored younger children, and even more bored older teenagers. 

Once they’d found a decent seat, Bellatrix turned to her. “I’m gonna go grab one of those programs, you want one?”

“Sure!”

Bellatrix left her coat on her chair so no one else took it and disappeared back into the crowd. 

“Hermione?” 

“Angelina! Oh, I forgot you had a sister in middle school!”

“Um, yeah, she’s in the chorus- what are you doing here?”

Hermione bit her lip and shifted awkwardly, peeking in the direction that Bellatrix had disappeared in. “I’m here with a friend.”

“Oh,” Angelina frowned. “Which friend?”

“Hey, I’ve got some, there- oh. Hello.”

The three of them sat frozen in place for a moment, Hermione in her seat with Bellatrix and Angelina standing on either side of her. 

Hermione broke the silence by asking, a little too loudly, “Angelina! Would you like to sit with us?”

“Er- I can’t, actually, I’m sitting with my mom, er- nice seeing you.”

“So… does she not like you?”

Bellatrix scoffed. “The whole school doesn’t like me.”

Hermione frowned at her. “I’m sure that’s not true, Bella. And besides, even if it was, they don’t- why are you looking at me like that?”

Bellatrix’s entire body had stiffened, her face had gone red, and she looked a bit like she’d just swallowed an entire golf ball. “You- called me Bella.”

“Oh. Oh, I guess I did. I- sorry?”

“No! I- no, it’s- it’s fine, I don’t- I don’t  _ mind _ it or anything, it’s just- I- er- well-” Bellatrix stopped, seemingly deciding that the best course of action would be to shut up before she stopped being able to talk altogether.  _ She doesn’t seem to be able to form complete sentences when you’re around _ , the Luna in the back of her head said.  _ Shut up _ , she told her. 

They sat in a bit of an awkward silence until the concert started, at which point Bella nudged her with her elbow and pointed out her younger sister, who was sitting stiffly in the front row and looking far more put together than the rest of her classmates. The band started up, playing one of the Christmas songs that Bella always tried so hard to avoid on the radio, causing the other girl to whimper slightly and dramatically slump into Hermione’s side. Nevertheless, when the song was over, she clapped in what had to be the most enthusiastic manner Hermione had ever seen her do anything and she noticed that Narcissa, who had peeked to the side and spotted them, sported a small smile after this.

And, of course, she noticed that Bella stayed pressed against her side for the rest of the evening, and that at some point, their hands had become intertwined.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> things are progressing....
> 
> make sure to review!


	8. December: Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which there are presents and one (1) party.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is a fun one guys... enjoy!

“Merry Christmas, Hermione!”

Hermione grinned as she walked down the stairs to find her parents already up and sitting on the couch. “Merry Christmas!”

They all settled down after grabbing a bit of breakfast (a nice, completely healthy dose of cookies- Christmas was one of the only times her parents ever let her eat sugar this early in the morning), and Hermione grabbed for the nearest present.

An hour later, their living room looked like it had just survived an explosion of wrapping paper, and they were just starting to calm down before Hermione realized that she had yet to open the presents that her friends had gotten her. She raced upstairs, grabbed her bag and her phone, and came back down.

Neville (or more likely, Neville’s parents) had put together a set of goody bags full of candy and a fuzzy pair of socks for everyone in their friend group, which she pulled on immediately. Everyone else either got her a gift card to Barnes and Nobles or an actual book- she found herself very excited at the prospect of curling up in her bed and reading them for the rest of break (she had, after all, already finished all of her homework). There was a package from Mrs. Weasley with a knitted sweater, which she adored, and folded up tenderly for washing.

Finally, she picked up the last one, with a label that read:

_ To: Hermione _

_ Merry Christmas! _

_ Your friend, _

_ Bella _

3 days before school was supposed to end for break, Hermione had walked into chemistry with two carefully wrapped presents- a book for Viktor that he had expressed some interest in, and a necklace for Bellatrix. When she’d given these out, Viktor had smiled joyfully and given her a gift in exchange (this had, unsurprisingly, also been a book). Bella, on the other hand, had accepted the present with a look of pure horror. Hermione still couldn’t decide if it was because she had forgotten to get her something or if it was because Bella had never gotten a present before. She was pretty sure it was a combination of both.

On the last day of school, Bellatrix had rushed into class, also with two presents. One was for Viktor, surprising Hermione and possibly Bella as well- she learned later that it was yet another book. And the other was held in her hands right now.

Unable to wait any longer, she carefully took off the wrapping paper, revealing the back of what looked like a canvas. She flipped it over and-

_ Oh _ .

Hermione had seen the sketches lining the walls of Bella’s study, hidden beneath shelf upon shelf of papers, but she’d never known she was such a talented artist. This had to have been drawn in the two days after she had given Bella her present, and she was impressed at the level of detail put in in that short amount of time.

The canvas was relatively small, just big enough that it fit nicely in her bag along with everything else, and featured two figures right in the center. One was clearly Bella, leaning up on Hermione’s shoulder with her eyes shut. Hermione was in the center, head leaning on Bella’s as one hand played with her dark, curly hair. Even though the background wasn’t painted, she recognized the scene from when they’d been curled up in the back of Bella’s car after a particularly long conversation. She’d thought Bella had been asleep while she’d played with her hair- now she wondered if she’d been faking it, or if she was making the scene up.

Either way, it was beautiful.

“What did you get?”

She gasped, and flipped the painting over before her parents could get a glimpse. She didn’t know why- but she hadn’t really told them about her and Bella and whatever was going on between them (though she suspected they already knew, she’d never had to hide anything from her parents before and therefore hadn’t developed the ability to), and she preferred to keep it to herself for the time being.

She was saved from any uncomfortable questions by her phone going off. 

_ Ginny: _

_ Merry Christmas guys!!!! _

_ Neville: _

_ Merry Christmas! _

_ Hermione:  _

_ Merry Christmas everyone! _

Smiling slightly, she tapped over to her message thread with Bella.

_ Hermione: _

_ Hey! Merry Christmas! Loved the present, it’s so beautiful! _

It took her a while to respond, and in that time, Hermione ate lunch and started cleaning up out of some deep ingrained habit. 

_ Bella: _

_ Merry Christmas! I’m glad you liked the painting, I’m afraid I panicked a bit when I didn’t have a present for you, so all things considered it turned out rather well. And I loved the necklace! _

Somewhat hysterically, Hermione wondered how long it had taken her to write that message- even for Bellatrix, it was overly formal. She also wondered if there was a reason for the formality and had the thought that she should ask Luna, since she seemed to know literally everything, but quickly dismissed it.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next day, she headed down the street to Harry’s house for the yearly tradition of meeting up the day after Christmas for their own celebration. Of course, this would be the first time she was participating, and it made her feel great to know she was included and part of the group. Although she’d had these friends for nearly an entire semester now, she didn’t forget that before that she never would have been going over to a friend’s house for  _ anything _ , much less a Christmas celebration. 

“Hermione! You’re here! Hey, guys, Hermione’s here!” Harry bounded into the house, looking a bit like an overgrown puppy as he dove onto the couch next to Ron.

“Hermione!” Ginny grinned, throwing up a hand to wave her over to the couch. “You brought cookies!”

“Yes, I did,” Hermione chuckled. “Here, I’ll put it on the table. Grab some before Ron takes them all.”

“Hey!” protested Ron, while at the same time reaching for one of the cookies. 

Ginny pulled her and the other girls together, Luna hovering over them behind the couch. “Someone sent me a necklace for Christmas! Look, it’s shaped like a heart!”

Katie gasped. “Who sent it to you?” 

“I don’t know, the package wasn’t signed! But it must’ve been some sort of secret admirer, who else would’ve sent that sort of thing?”

Hermione fought the blush shooting up her cheeks. The necklace she’d sent Bella had been a heart.

Then she caught a glimpse of Harry, peeking over at them in what he must’ve thought was a surreptitious matter.  _ Oh, dear…. _

She wondered if he’d been too scared to sign the package, or if he’d done it entirely purposefully, intended to be a smooth move to charm her before he told her about his feelings. It was probably working- Ginny was fawning over her “mystery admirer” that was really only a mystery to her- she could see the other girls trying not to laugh and also peeking over at Harry.

“Oh! And I forgot to tell you- Bill invited Ms. Delacour over on Christmas!”

Hermione gaped. “What?!”

“Yeah, it must be pretty serious now. It was so weird, she kept nagging at me because I haven’t started the french homework yet.”

Angelina scoffed and smacked her lightly on the arm. “You should start that.”

“Yeah, yeah, I will. But that’s not the point! You have to admit it’s bloody weird, my brother dating my teacher! And besides-”

She was interrupted by Fred and George.

“Hey, guys-”

“We were thinking-”

“Lavender Brown’s throwing that party-”

“For New Year’s Eve, you know?”

“We might go, so-”

“You guys should come with us-”

“So we can have fun together!”

Ginny shrugged. “Will there be alcohol?”

Fred and George gave her a look, and chorused, “It’s  _ Lavender Brown _ .”

“Fair enough. Sure, I’ll go.”

“Oh, yeah, sounds fun!” Harry said, peeking over at Ginny hopefully.

“Who’s invited?” Neville asked.

Fred shrugged. “No one, really. She posted it on her story a couple days ago. But the Death Eaters definitely won’t be there, though I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the less… nasty ones came just to get some drinks. Her parents are out of town and it’s a huge house so it should be a great time.”

“I don’t know, I might not come,” Hermione told them. “I’m not really a party type.”

“Aw, come on, ‘Mione, it’ll be fun! You won’t even have to drink, just come and enjoy the music,” Harry grinned. “We’d miss you!”

“You should go,” Luna said dreamily. “I have a feeling it would be beneficial.” Yes, Hermione decided, she’s definitely psychic.

George nodded towards Luna. “Well, there you go. Our prophet has spoken, you have to come now.”

Hermione had to say she was tempted to turn them down- but then she looked over at Luna, who was fixing her with the most focused look she’d ever seen on her face, and decided against it.

After all, in Hogwarts High, everyone knew that you had to listen to Luna Lovegood, if you knew what was good for you.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hermione really did not like parties.

There were just so many  _ people _ , most of which she didn’t know, and most of which were drunk or on the way to becoming drunk. Almost everyone in her friend group was drunk, except for Neville, who didn’t like drinking, and Luna, who, as far as Hermione knew, had never touched a drop of alcohol in her life and probably didn’t plan on it.

At some point in the night, she’d given in, and grabbed one of the cups resting on the table, and, before she could change her mind, downed the contents. 

She decided that she did not much like alcohol either.

“Oh, I’m just waiting for drama to happen!” Ginny giggled, stumbling up to her. 

“Like what?”

“Like, look over there. There’s Parkinson and Greengrass, and over there is Lavender and Parvati glaring at them. All four of them are getting drunker by the minute, something is bound to happen.”

“Why did she even come? I thought they hated each other.”

“Well, yes, they do, but you know Greengrass won’t pass up an opportunity for good drinks and a party, and she always drags Parkinson with her.”

“And besides, they don’t hate each other.”

Ginny scoffed, and turned around to Luna. “Luna, dear, I know you’re like, always right, but there’s no way that’s true. Have you seen them?”

Luna said something else, but Hermione didn’t hear- her senses had focused completely at the two people who had just walked into the room.

“I’ll be right back,” she muttered to a guffawing Ginny, going towards the door. “Bella?”

Bella sighed. “Hello. Fancy seeing you here.”   
  


“What are you doing here?”

Her attention was drawn to the girl next to Bella when she rolled her eyes and groaned loudly. “Apparently I need a chaperone.”

“You’re 14!”

“So?”

“So, there is alcohol and older boys and-”

“And I’ll be with Ted the whole time, just relax!” The girl Hermione could only assume was Bella’s sister Andromeda turned towards her. “Hi. I’m Andy, Bella’s ever suffering little sister. You must be her only friend Hermione- ow, Bella! Anyway, I’m off. See you!”

“Er- okay.”

They stood there in silence for a moment before Hermione snapped out of it. “Oh, here, we probably shouldn’t be standing in the middle of the doorway.” They moved out of the way just as a very drunk Seamus Finnegan and a bemused Dean Thomas walked through the door. Hermione wondered absently if Lavender had hidden away any flammable material in her house- an inebriated Seamus was a recipe for disaster. 

“So… I guess you’re not here for the drinks?” Bella teased, gesturing towards the cups. 

“No. My friends convinced me to come. Including Luna.”

“Oh, well then, you did well to heed that advice. Lovegood seems to know everything, it’s terrifying.”

Had Luna known Bella would be at the party? Was  _ that _ what she’d meant when she’d said she should come? 

Luna scared her a bit sometimes.

“Yes, well. I suppose it’s alright so far. Still, I’d much rather be somewhere that isn’t as… noisy.”

“My car’s parked outside,” Bella blurted out. “It’s about a street away, but it’s not too far, just far enough that some drunk kid doesn’t crash into it.”

That sounded great to Hermione, and a minute later they were walking out down the street. 

_ She’s shivering _ , Hermione realized. Without thinking, she took off her own jacket and laid it around her shoulders. “Here, you, er, looked cold.”

Was that a blush on her cheeks as she tightened the jacket around her, or were they just red from the cold?

She sighed in relief when they got to the car and Bellatrix slotted the keys into the ignition, getting some heat into the car. She started handing her coat back, but Hermione pushed it back. “You’re still shivering, you should keep it on.”

“Thanks.”

Hermione wondered if she should turn the radio on, just to fill the silence, but decided against it. Bella was still shivering slightly, burrowing herself further into the coat wrapped around her.

“It’s a nice night,” she commented. “Bit chilly.”

“Mm.”

“It’s 5 minutes to midnight.”

Bella’s lip twitched up. “Happy New Year.”

She felt a little strange, a fuzzy feeling in her stomach. Maybe it was the alcohol. 

They were quiet again, so quiet that she could actually hear the noise from the street over, where the group of teenagers were likely amping themselves up for the start of the New Year- 2 minutes left.

“Got any New Year’s Revolutions?” Bella asked.

“Er. Better grades? I don’t know, I’ve never really given much thought to them before.”

“Hm. I think I’m gonna talk to more people.”

Well, that was certainly surprising. “Really?”

“Yeah. I dunno, maybe they aren’t as bad as I always thought. Except Lavender and Parkinson, of course.”

Hermione smirked. “Of course.”

Her heart was beating in her chest, and she couldn’t quite figure out why, but she was practically on the edge of her seat in anticipation. 

One minute left.

“You know, I’ve always wondered why it’s customary to kiss at midnight.”

She froze. “Yes, well. People have many odd traditions.”

“Mm.”

“Hey, Hermione?”

“Yeah?”

She turned to face Bella- in the corner of her eye, the clock flipped to midnight, and she and Bella both leaned forward.

This time, there were no distractions to stop their lips from meeting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yayyyy they kissed!


	9. January Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's been quite a while since I've updated- sorry! I'm not even that busy, though that's certainly part of it- I've just been hit with a horrible case of writer's block. Shit sucks.
> 
> bit shorter than usual, but it's cute

_ Harry: _

_ everyone get home alright? forgot to check last night i was way too drunk lmao _

Hermione groaned and grabbed her phone from her nightstand.

_ Neville: _

_ I drove everyone home except Hermione, I couldn’t find her after the party and Ginny was about to pass out so we had to go _

Flashes of the night before came back to her- kissing Bella over the center console, hand tangled up in her hair, and the subsequent ride back to her house where Bella’s hand had never left hers. 

_ Hermione: _

_ I got home, someone else drove me! _

_ Harry: _

_ Dude was it black _

_ I thought i saw her little sister at the party _

Oh, right. Andy. She remembered picking her and a boy called Ted Tonks up once the party was over (and once they’d finished kissing). She’d given them a knowing look but hadn’t said anything at Bella’s pointed look between her and Ted, causing Hermione to snort quietly. 

_ Hermione: _

_ Yeah she drove me home _

_ She was ‘chaperoning’ her sister _

She groaned inwardly when Ginny texted her privately. 

_ Ginny: _

_ So she drove you home did she? ;) _

_ Hermione: _

_ Yes, she did, and she was very nice about it _

_ Ginny: _

_ Did she do anything else? ;) _

_ Hermione: _

_ Find a different emoticon _

_ And _

_ We may or may not have kissed _

_ Ginny: _

_ O. M. G. HERMIONE. YOU WHAT. AJSDKLF _

_ Hermione: _

_ Yeah we kissed _

_ It was quite nice _

_ Ginny: _

_ Quite nice?! _

_ Hermioneeee we’re talking more abt this in school tmr _

_ Ur not getting out of it _

_ I WON’T LET YOU _

_ Hermione: _

_ Fine  _

Chuckling a bit, she shut her phone off and picked up a book.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“ _ Oh, come on!” _ Hermione slammed her hand on her steering wheel. She made a small noise of frustration in the back of her throat, and jiggled her keys around in the ignition one more time. The car made a little sputtering noise before dying down again.

Well, she guessed she wouldn’t be driving into school today.

Hermione started running through her options. She couldn’t take the bus- not only was it a less than favorable mode of transportation, it had come and gone 10 minutes ago. She could ask one of her friends. But, no, Ginny and Ron lived on the other side of town, Harry had gone early to school to get a project in, Hermione had no idea how Luna got to school in the morning, and Neville rode his bike.

So. None of her friends.

Well….

_ Hermione: _

_ Hey! My car’s broken down, do you think you could give me a ride?  _

She almost felt bad for asking- she hadn’t talked to Bella since she’d dropped her off at home after the party. It all felt so… awkward. They hadn’t even talked about what was happening now between them yet, though she supposed they would have to have that conversation eventually.

_ Bella: _

_ I will be there in 10 minutes. _

Well, she would be a bit late to school. But she’d known that when she’d asked Bella to give her a ride, because she couldn’t think of a single instance that year when the other girl had actually been on time for first period.

She went back inside to wait, letting her parents know that her car had broken down and that yes, she had a ride, and no, she didn’t need them to pick her up after school. By the time Bella got there, her parents had already left for work, and she was sitting out on her porch reading a book.

“Hey. Thank you so much-”

“Don’t mention it,” Bella muttered, a blush rising to her cheeks. “It’s on the way anyway.”

“Right.”

“So….” Andy grinned from behind them. “How’s it going, Hermione?”

“Er. Fine.”

“How was your day yesterday? I hear you had a good time at the New Year’s party.”

“Um.”

“Leave her alone, Andy,” Narcissa sighed from next to her. Bella, apparently, drove both of her younger sisters to and from school everyday- the bus route ended a good mile before their house, and she didn't want her younger sisters to have to walk to the bus stop, and Hermione knew that their parents definitely weren't driving them to school.

“Oh, shush, Cissy. I want to know more. Hermione, were you drunk when you were kissing my sister?”

Bellatrix jerked the wheel a bit in surprise. 

“I- no, I was not- what-  _ why _ -”

“Oh, just wondering. So if you weren’t drunk, why haven’t you texted her?”

“Andy, it’s been one day, leave it,” said Narcissa. “I’m sure Hermione didn’t mean any harm.” She fixed her with a glare that was far too terrifying for a 12 year old, and Hermione squirmed uncomfortably in her seat.

“Both of you shut it,” Bellatrix grumbled, cheeks still a bit red. “It’s not any of your business.”

“Ted’s not any of your business,” Andy shot back. “You still try to interfere in that.”

“ _ Ted  _ is trying to date my baby sister-”

“I’m 14!”

“-I have every right to interfere.”

“Bullshit.”

“Andy! Language!” Narcissa whined.

“Oh, grow the fuck up, Cissy.”

“Andy, don’t curse in front of your sister.”

“Yeah, Andy! Don’t curse in front of your sister!”

“ _ Don’t curse in front of your sister _ ,” Andy mocked.

“Don’t be mean!”

“ _ Don’t be mean _ !”

“Will you two stop it? We do this every day.”

“But it’s fun!” 

“It is  _ not _ fun, you’re being  _ mean _ to me!”

“Awww, did I hurt your feelings?”

“Alright! We’re here! Cissy, you have everything? Lunch, bag- there you go, love. Have fun, learn stuff, all that-”

“Bye, Bella.”

“Hey, wait, get-” Bella reached out of the window, grabbed Narcissa by the arm, dragged her back towards her, and wrestled her down to plant a kiss on her cheek. 

“Ew, Bella, stop!”

“Nope. Never. Alright, now go, you’ll be late.”

“Love you Bella!”

Andy rolled down her window. “Love you too, Cissy!”

Smirking slightly, Bella started out of the parking lot. Hermione turned towards her. “The middle school doesn’t start for another half an hour, right?”

“Yeah, but she likes to go to the library and help out in the mornings.”

“Cause she’s a nerd.”

“Andy, your sister is very rarely nice to people, please don’t discourage that.”

They spent the ride to the high school in silence, Andy opting to poke around at her phone for the rest of the ride. When they got there (a couple of minutes after the second bell), Andy opened the door and rushed towards the school, cursing a bit at the time. 

Hermione and Bella walked a little slower, and Hermione peeked next to her at Bella, who was walking with one hand buried deep in her pocket and the other dangling at her side- the one closer to her.

She reached over and slipped her hand into Bella’s. 

“Hey, um- for what it’s worth, I’m sorry I didn’t text you yesterday.”

“Oh, it’s- it’s fine. Andy doesn’t know what she’s talking about.”

“Right. But, er- I did want to talk.”

Bella’s hand tightened in hers. “Oh.”

“Not a bad talk! Just- I- what’s happening here?”

They both paused at the door to the school, and Bella turned to look at her. “What do you want to happen?”

Oh, boy. 

“I- I really like you, Bella. I, er-” Hermione took a deep breath to compose herself. “I don’t know if you feel the same way, but that’s how I-”

She was cut off by a kiss that she immediately melted into. She supposed that answered that question well enough.

“I- we can’t tell anyone,” Bella said when they broke away. “If it got back to my parents-”

“Of course,” Hermione muttered, leaning forward and kissing her cheek. “We’ll be careful.”

They both leaned in for another kiss, and a tingly, warm feeling spread throughout Hermione’s body to fight off the cold January morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the black sisters are so cute, i stg


	10. January: Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow ummm so this kinda sucks but you know writer's block. what even happens in january? nothing. literally absolutely nothing
> 
> hopefully the next one will have more content, and hopefully you enjoy this chapter!

“Er- hello?”

“Potter.”

“What, um. What are you doing here.”

Bella shrugged awkwardly, and Hermione stifled a laugh. “Well, you, er, need an extra person, right?”

“Well. I. Er- I mean-”

“Yes, we do need an extra person, thank you, Bella.”

Both Harry and Ron raised their eyebrows at her at the nickname, while Ginny sniggered quietly. Bella shot her a glare, looking much less threatening in her bright yellow gym uniform that was, much to her dismay, a little too big on her.

Mrs Hooch had them inside that day (thankfully, seeing as the roads were icy and there was snow piled up on the side of the road) playing volleyball. Usually, their little group would have divided up evenly, but she wanted 5 people per group. They’d been debating who to include- their options were limited to either Lavender Brown or Pansy Parkinson, who were standing at opposite ends of the gym in hopes of not being put together- when Bella had walked up to them and planted herself next to the group.

“Well, let’s go grab a net, there’s a free one right there.”

“But Parkinson’s over there,” Bella protested. Again, Harry and Ron gave her an incredulous look- she had to remind herself that Bella did not normally speak with other people.

“We’ll be able to rotate, we won’t be stuck with her for long. Besides, we’ll probably win, she’s with Lavender and you know they can’t work together.”

Harry snorted from next to her. “And somehow they always end up pairing up.”

“And they haven’t managed to kill each other yet,” Ron pointed out.

“They always work together because no one else actually likes them except Greengrass and Patil, and neither of them are here,” Bella said. 

Harry blinked at her. “You know, that’s like the most I’ve ever heard you talk in my life.”

Bella froze up and fidgeted with the edge of her shirt. “Well. It’s only because Hermione is here.”

Harry opened his mouth, but was interrupted by a loud whistle. “Alright, class! I’m going to be keeping track of who wins- and whoever loses has to do 10 push ups!”

“You know, glaring at her won’t make it any better.”

Bella glanced up at her, then went back to fixing Mrs. Hooch with her best death glare. “I know. But if I stare hard enough, she might explode.”

“ _ Bella- _ ”

“And- Begin!”

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Ow!”

“Good hit, Black!”

“Harry!”

Hermione rubbed her hand over her forehead and looked over to where Parkinson was lying on the ground, rubbing her shoulder, courtesy of Bellatrix.

“It was an accident, sorry,” Bella shrugged, not looking very sorry. Next to her, Harry snorted.

“Oh, that was amazing!” Lavender shrieked, laughing at the girl on the ground.

“ _ You little- _ ” The rest of Pansy’s sentence was cut off when she got up off the ground and tackled Lavender.

“Ooh, boy,” Ron grinned. “This should be good.”

“Fight, fight, fight-”

“Bella, stop-”

“Fight! Fight! Fight!”

“Oh, Harry, not you too-”

“FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT-”

“Well, now you’ve got the whole class-”

Hermione groaned as the class stopped playing volleyball and crowded around the two girls, Harry and Bella muttering bets to each other. Why couldn’t they just have a normal gym class for once?

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“So- vos it Bella’s fault?”

Hermione shrugged. “No, not really. She didn’t make it better, of course, but it’s really Parkinson and Lavender and their many, many issues.”

“Ah. And that is why she is having a hurt nose?”

They both looked across the french room at where Parkinson was sporting a few bruises and a swollen nose. “Yep.”

“You Americans are so interesting.”

“Thanks, Viktor.”

He looked up at Mme Delacour, who was on her phone- most likely texting Bill. “So, ah, how is the scary girl doing?”

“Bella’s fine,” Hermione said, far too quickly, a blush rising up on her face. “Why do you ask?”

Viktor smiled and wiggled an eyebrow. “She seems happier lately, no? I vondered if it had something to do with you.”

Hermione narrowed her eyes at him. “Perhaps. What do you know?”

“Vell, I need to know vot is happening before I tell you that.”

Hermione looked around the room, determined that no one was listening, and leaned in. “We kissed.”

Viktor’s face broke in to a grin. “Oh, that is vonderful! I am glad to see you and scary girl be happy.”

“Now you tell me what you know.”

Instead of fading, his grin grew wider. “You remember my first day here, yes?”

She very vividly remembered his first day. She’d been vaguely concerned that it would be his last with the way Bella had been glaring at him.

“Yes, I do. You asked me out and then took that offer back after a ‘conversation’ with Bella.”

“That is correct. Scary girl talked to me during class and said that she was liking you, so I should back off.”

Hermione’s mouth dropped open in a little “o”. “I thought she’d just threatened you with death or something!”

Viktor chuckled. “No. She vos, at first, but then she accidentally said that she liked you. It made much more sense after that.”

“Alright class, discussion time is over, time to learn!” Hermione was wrenched from her conversation with Viktor by Mme Delacour finally putting down her phone and coming to stand at the whiteboard.

Ginny raised her hand. “Miss Delacour? Was that my brother you were texting over there?”

The class sniggered.

“Zat is none of your business, Miss Weasley,” Delacour snapped, cheeks flaming red. “Now, if you will please turn to page 394 in your textbooks….”

Hermione shared a smirk with Ginny, then moved to follow the instructions.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**_So, I saw you were talking with Harry the other day._ **

Hermione slid the note across the desk to Bella. She would normally find such an action abhorrent, but this was history, and Mr. Binns was so incredibly boring, and basically taught right out of the textbook anyway (and the textbook, miraculously, was much more interesting).

**Yes, he’s tolerable, I suppose** .

**_You should sit with us at lunch_ **

**Now that might be too many gingers to deal with at once….**

**_Oh, come on. Who do you even sit with anyway?_ **

Hermione frowned at Bella, who was fidgeting uncomfortably with her pencil. From the other side of her, Viktor glanced over at their conversation and slid a paper onto her desk.

_ The scary girl sits with me _

She almost snorted out loud at this- she wondered how long it would take for Bella to admit she was friends with Viktor. 

**_You and Viktor would be more than welcome to join us_ **

**Oh, shut up**

**_So?_ **

**Hm. Fine.**

Grinning triumphantly, Hermione tucked the paper back in her bag.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Much to her surprise, Bella and Viktor actually followed her to her table at lunch (though not without much persuasion and some dragging on Viktor’s part to get Bella to come). Her surprise was nothing compared to her friends’, some of whom rubbed their eyes and blinked a couple of times as if they thought they might be dreaming.

“Oh, hello,” Luna smiled. “Here, sit down. You’re lucky I grabbed two extra seats today.” Instead of wondering how on earth Luna had known to get two extra chairs, Hermione sat herself down next to Ginny, Bella quickly claiming the seat on the other side.

“So… you’re Viktor, right?” Angelina spoke up, breaking the awkward silence.

“Yes, I am.”

“How long are you staying at this school?”

“I vill be here until the end of the year.”

“Oh, so you’ll be coming to prom?” Katie asked, perking up. 

“Ooh, yes. It sounds very exciting.”

“Hermione, you’re going to prom, right?” Ginny asked, turning to her.

“Er. I mean, yeah, didn’t you already ask-”

“Bellatrix, what about you?” she smirked, leaning over to look at Bella and looking between the two of them.

Bella’s face flushed red. “I might.”

Harry looked up, rushing to swallow his food. “Would you be willing to help me smuggle in some alcohol?”

“No, she would not,” Hermione said resolutely, staring down Bella, who’s face had immediately brightened.

“Oh, come on,” she whined.

“Yeah, ‘Mione, come on,” Ron grinned. “You and Black are the only people McGonagall won’t check for alcohol, she loves you two. And you’ve already said no-”

“Hey, McGonagall loves me too!” Harry protested. 

“Yeah, mate, but she’ll still check you. You tried sneaking some into homecoming, remember?”

“And she only likes Hermione and I because we’re the only people who actually do the work in her class.”

“I am sorry. Vot is prom?”

“Oh! Well, you see….” 

Hermione leaned back in her seat as Ginny and Angelina launched into a detailed explanation of the tradition- leaned back, and a little to her left, where Bella was sitting. Somehow, her hand managed to find hers under the table, and she smiled.


	11. February: Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm sorry :(
> 
> I know it's been a hot second, but I really just could not find the motivation to write this story so, naturally, I started a new one (which, if you haven't seen, is a little something for the mcu if you want to check that out ;) ). And then I had a sudden random burst of inspiration and i was like wow ok i guess we're back to this now so yayyy here's a new chapter and i'm pretty sure i know what to do with the next one so hopefully that will be out soon.
> 
> sorry for the wait, hope you enjoy this chapter!

“This is stupid. I hate this. This is so, so stupid.”

Hermione rolled her eyes as Harry sniggered and Ron groaned in agreement. Bella was scowling at the lunch table, where a large paper heart had fluttered down from the ceiling and landed in the middle. 

The entire cafeteria was covered in  _ pink _ . Pink streamers, pink hearts, pink banners advertising the valentine’s day dance- even Hermione had to admit it was a bit of an eyesore. But Bella, who hated all holidays with a passion because they were “commercial and superficial and annoying”, looked like she might die surrounded by the decorations.

“Valentine’s day isn’t even for another  _ week _ !” 

“I know,” Ron groaned, shifting slightly to avoid a falling streamer (only for it to drift and land on his head anyway). “What are they playing at, anyway?”

“Well, one thing’s for sure,” Angelina grinned. “It wasn’t Riddle’s idea.”

Hermione snorted. Mr. Riddle, who was on “lunch duty” for the day, was standing to the side of the room and looking supremely uncomfortable with a deep scowl on his face. There was a piece of confetti on his head. No one bothered pointing it out.

“It’s that new ‘advisor’ Dumbledore hired. I like Dumbledore, but he really doesn’t know how to hire people. Remember the last one? He got put under criminal investigation.” 

Harry had a point- Mr. Quirrel had always seemed fishy, and it had come as no surprise to see him getting carted away. But in the month since he’d left, Dumbledore had hired a “Mr. Lockhart”, a man who clearly had no idea what he was doing but intended to do it with as much gusto as possible. Thus, the first holiday he was able to get a hold of was going to be about 100 times more enthusiastic- and, according to Bella, sickening- than usual.

“I liked Quirrel better,” Fred mumbled. “Did you know he’s gotten the chorus to go around singing love songs to people on Valentine’s day? They’re taking out fucking commissions. It’s insane.”

Harry perked up, and immediately tried to hide it- unfortunately for him, Ginny noticed. She narrowed her eyes. “Planning on sending them after someone? Like Cho Chang, maybe?”

“What? No! No, er- it just- might be funny as a prank.” 

Bella raised her eyebrows, then looked between him and Ginny, then back at Hermione. She nodded slightly.

“And anyway, didn’t you hear? She got back together with Cedric Diggory,” Neville pointed out. Bella stiffened besides her.

“Didn’t he transfer out?” Ginny asked. “Why was that, by the way?”

Harry shrugged. “Dunno. Ernie said he heard he was coming back or something, but I’m not sure.”

Luna hummed. “Yes, he is. Sometime next month. He was always very nice.”

“Luna, how do you  _ know  _ that?”

Luna shrugged and took a bite out of her sandwich. Ron shook his head. “Bloody psychic.”

She smiled. “Watch out.”

“What’s that- oh, come on!”

Bella leaned away from him, wrinkling her nose as she picked off one of the streamers that had fallen on his head. “I still don’t see what the big deal is. It’s a dumb holiday.”

“I’m going to kill whoever invented streamers,” Ron grumbled, shaking the rest off of his head.

Hermione rolled her eyes. “Oh, come on, you two. It’s a fun holiday. I like it.” Well, kind of. She loved the idea- had always hated when the actual day came around and seemingly everyone was paired off with each other and showering their partners with extravagant gifts. 

“Expecting to get something, Hermione?” Ginny grinned, looking pointedly at Bellatrix. She paused in her quest of helping Ron get the streamers off of their table and looked up with a look of absolute horror.

“Um. I. Yes?”

She had to hide a smile when Bella looked to Viktor and gave him a look that very clearly screamed ‘ _ help me _ ’. She wasn’t surprised that she hadn’t thought far ahead enough to plan out a gift (Valentine’s Day was, after all, an entire week away, as Bella had pointed out earlier)- especially given her hate of the holiday. But now that it had been brought to her attention, knowing her, Bella would go all out. 

Damn. Now she would have to come up with something creative.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Hey! Hermione!”

She could see Bella’s jaw clench in irritation as Colin Creevey ran up to them. She knew he was in her sister’s grade- and she knew she found small children aggravating when they weren’t named Andy or Cissy. 

“Hey, Colin. How’s it going?”

He smiled and fell into step besides her. Ever since the Hallway Incident, he had become braver and braver in attempts to talk to her, much to Bella’s dismay. Bella happily went on pretending it had never happened- they still disagreed on her interfering with Rodolphus and his friends, so Hermione wasn’t too hung up on them not talking about it. Colin, however, seemed to bring the incident up in both of their minds.

“I’m good! Mom got me a new camera. I’m gonna use it to help out with the yearbook club, Cho says I’m really good at taking pictures so she’s bringing me along to all these games and stuff.” Cho Chang was, while also being student body president, valedictorian for her year and, apparently, part of the yearbook club. “Mind if I take your picture?”

“Um. Sure, but maybe later, I’ve got to get to class-”

“Ok! I’ll find you during lunch!”

Bellatrix sighed as he hurried away. “I don’t see why you talk to him.”

“Oh, come on, Bella. He’s cute. Like a tiny little ball of energy.”

“An  _ annoying _ ball of energy.”

“He isn’t annoying. Just energetic.”

“Yes. Exactly.”

Hermione rolled her eyes, pushing open the door to chem for Bella to walk through. “Well. I think he’s adorable. We’ll have to agree to disagree.”

“Mm.”

They took their seats behind Lavender and Parkinson, who were bickering quietly (Hermione had no idea what they were arguing about- at this point, she wasn’t sure they did either). She didn’t miss Bella fistbumping Viktor on the way to her seat.

Slughorn rambled on about  _ something _ (at some point, she had taken Fred and George’s advice and tuned him out- she normally wouldn’t but his lessons were absolutely impossible to follow) while the class let their minds drift. Seamus was asleep. Dean had sketched out a cartoon of Slughorn trying to figure out the projector that was making its way around the class. There were strange scratching sounds coming from the back corner- she suspected that Daphne Greengrass was trying to carve something into her desk (possibly with a knife- she wouldn’t be surprised). Terry Boot was seeing how far he could lean back in his chair before falling. Lavender and Parkinson were poking at each other, reminding Hermione a bit of a pair of toddlers.

Viktor had taken out his phone, and was watching a soccer game in real time, grinning widely whenever something happened that he liked- Hermione didn’t know what, she didn’t have the faintest idea how soccer worked. Bella was- writing something? Or sketching. But Bella never sketched in front of anyone, not even her, and certainly not in school.

Strange.

She wondered if she should start her math homework. It wasn’t due until tomorrow, but why not start early? She was just leaning down to unzip her bag when Lavender shrieked and fell off of her chair.

Slughorn turned around from where he had been facing the whiteboard, and the class righted itself. Dean nudged Seamus awake. She saw Parvati Patil cover up the sketch with her arm, and Daphne Greengrass shoved what Hermione assumed to be a pocket knife back into her jacket. Terry Boot’s chair dropped back down to the floor with a quiet  _ thud. _

Slughorn remained oblivious. “Ah! Miss Brown, what happened?”

Parkinson smirked as Lavender glared sulkily up at her. “Sorry, Mr. Slughorn. Must have gotten a bit dizzy.” Even though she was clearly angry at Parkinson, Lavender did not break the unspoken rule that one could not sell out one’s classmates if they had been fooling around, excepting extenuating circumstances.

“Oh, dear, do you need to go to the nurse?”

Lavender picked herself back up. “I’m fine.”

“Alright then. Where were we?” No one answered (no one knew). “Ah, yes, the energy levels of….”

And the class settled back down. Lavender poked Parkinson in the side, Parvati slipped the sketch back to Terry Boot and Daphne Greengrass, and Seamus Finnegan dropped his head back down on the desk.

She got out her math homework, and got to work.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“So,” Ginny started, plopping down besides her, “What’re you getting Bellatrix for Valentine’s Day?”

Hermione groaned. “I don’t  _ know _ !” I’ve tried thinking of things but- but she  _ hates _ Valentine’s Day! Or- or any holiday!”

“Okay, come on. We can figure this out. What does she like?”

Hermione frowned. Bella- Bella liked her sisters. She liked Hermione. And- drawing? “I mean, I could get her some paint or something. But that’s the thing, she has more than enough money to buy whatever she wants so it would just kind of feel-”

“Sad?”

Hermione glared at her. “Not  _ sad _ , just- well- oh, you know what I mean.”

“Yeah, yeah. You know, you could do some kind of romantic gesture. You don’t necessarily have to buy her anything.”

“But  _ what _ , then? I’m not good at romance!”

“I was going to suggest a heart necklace, but you’ve already gotten her that-”

“Oh, shush.”

“-or a kiss, but you’ve  _ definitely _ given her that.”

Ginny, she decided, was being wildly unhelpful. She would have to try someone else.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Er- Andromeda? Could I talk to you for a second?”

Andromeda Black gave her a cheeky grin and pecked Ted Tonks on the cheek before getting up. “Sure. What’s up?”

Hermione led her to the side of the hallway. “Do you, um… I’m trying to think of what to get your sister. For. Valentine’s Day.”

“Aw, cute.” At Hermione’s glare, she sobered. “Okay, um- you really don’t have to get her anything. You could literally give her a rock and she’d love it because it’s from you. And I think she’s definitely doing more than enough for the two of you, I never thought I’d see the day where Bella of all people is this excited about any holiday, but here we are.”

“Do you know what she’s getting me?”

“Yes, and before you ask, no, I’m not telling you what it is. You’ll have to wait and see.”

Damn. “Ok, fine. But- but surely there must be  _ something _ I can get her.”

Andy seemed to be in deep thought for a moment, then said, “Hm. There is something. Might take a bit of planning, but we could probably pull it off….”

As she explained, Hermione smiled softly. It was perfect. 

Hopefully, Bella would think so too.


	12. February Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Bella and Hermione both attempt their respective Valentine's Day surprises, and somehow don't fail completely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! This is a cute one and slightly longer than the last which is fun. Hope you enjoy!

Hermione could sense the different feel in the air when she got to school on Valentine’s day. More couples were making out in the hallways than usual (she did her best to avoid them), and other people were waiting in gleeful anticipation to meet up with their partners. The people who had no prospective dates were less joyous, some of them sticking with their friends for safety and others sulking about at the side of the hallways, several looking ready to make a run for it. 

The school was, if possible, even pinker than it had been in the week leading up to this day. The Student Council (on which Kingsley Shacklebolt and Cho Chang were prominent members) had banners and streamers  _ everywhere _ , some of which looked like they would definitely be falling to the floor by the end of the day or even in the next couple of minutes. 

She managed to get to her locker after a bit of maneuvering (it was one thing to kiss your partner, but another entirely to do it in the middle of the hallway), and wrenched it open (her locker required a bit of jiggling to get it open). She was shrugging off her coat when her eyes landed on the bottom of her locker.

There was a single flower there. She picked it up- it was a deep red color, with a yellow center. She furrowed her brow- she had no idea what kind it was.

Then she smiled. There was only one person that had access to her locker.

She carried the flower to class, twirling the stem around with her fingers. Ginny grinned when she saw her walk in, and the rest of her friends gaped. “Where did you get that?” Ron demanded.

Hermione tried and failed to suppress a smile as she took her seat. “Someone left it in my locker.”

Ginny giggled, and Harry frowned, seemingly realizing that this would have been a good idea. “D’you know what kind of flower it is?” he asked.

“Why? Planning on getting one for Cho?” Ginny asked, grin falling off of her face in an instant.

He paled. “What? No! No, why would- I’m not- no!”

She exchanged an exasperated look with Neville, who gestured for her to show him the flower. “Hm. It’s a camellia. I think it’s- something about love? Or maybe fire. I’m not sure.”

“I didn’t know you knew so much about flowers.”

He shrugged, looking awkward. “Yeah, well- I dunno. I help my mom garden sometimes, I think I picked a lot up from her. I like plants, they’re fun.” She didn’t think they were very fun, but to each their own. 

“Huh. You should be a botanist. Or something. You seem like you’d be good at it.”

He brightened considerably at this. “Thanks.”

“Alright, class, settle down. We had a reading due today, if you could take out your books and open them up to the assigned pages…?”

As they went through the usual class routine of Hermione answering questions and Harry and Ron desperately trying to pretend they had read, Hermione studied the flower. Love. She found herself smiling again.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bella did not show up until halfway through the period, McGonagall barely missing a beat as she hurried in. She wondered why that was- once, Harry had been late, and she had given him a detention. She suspected it was because Bella was so often late to class that putting her in detention would serve no actual purpose.

After the class had finished, she emerged from the room, splitting with her friends and meeting up with Bella, who always waited at the door for her (Bella, while being friendlier towards Hermione’s friends and sitting with them at lunch- though sometimes she and Viktor would go back to wherever they had sat before- had yet to break her usual routine of sitting as far back in the classroom as she could possibly get). 

She smiled. “Happy Valentine’s Day.”

Bella scowled. “It’s so  _ pink. _ But- yes, Happy Valentine’s Day.”

“How did you get to my locker if you were late today?”

She snorted softly. “Yeah, figured you would notice that. I got Viktor to do it for me.” Ah. Yes, she’d figured. 

“Why do you never come on time, anyway?”

Bella shrugged. “I have to drop both of my sisters off, you know. And I can’t be bothered to get out of bed early enough to do that in time for class.”

“Most of the important stuff we learn in English is in the first half of the period.”

“We learn important stuff in English?”

“Ha, ha,” she snorted, shoving into Bella’s arm playfully before racing ahead slightly to hold open the chemistry door for her (it was a race, every day, to see who would get to it first- though at this point they just took turns). 

“Hello, everyone!” Slughorn said cheerfully. He was wearing a bright pink shirt and a funny hat. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Dean Thomas pulling out some pencils and a sheet of paper, and knew she would be receiving yet another caricature later in the period.

“Alright, settle down, settle down. Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone! We’re gonna do a little activity today, here, take these worksheets and pass them down the rows-” Bella wordlessly reached forward and grabbed the stack of papers that Lavender passed back to them, took three, and went back to twirling her pencil around her fingers. 

Hermione took a look at the worksheet. Oh. Coloring. Fun. Viktor’s face broke into a smile next to her, and he looked around the classroom to find the colored pencils.

She and Bella finished first (closely followed by Viktor, who, being their friend, was allowed to copy off of their work), a common occurrence in that class- she wasn’t entirely sure if anyone else actually knew what was going on. Seamus slept most of the time (when he wasn’t setting things on fire), Dean seemed to be constantly providing a never ending stream of drawings of various teachers, and Lavender and Parkinson spent every second of their lives, seemingly, arguing with each other. Even  _ Hermione _ didn’t pay attention most of the time- but at least she did her work well and on time. 

“Hermione?” Viktor gave her his best attempt at puppy eyes. “Bring my worksheet to the front for me pleaseee?”

The puppy eyes worked, and she sighed. “Fine.”

“Ooh, mine too?” Bella pleaded.

Hermione rolled her eyes, but grabbed her worksheet anyway. Slughorn gave her an approving look when she got up, as he always did when she handed in her work, and told her she could do whatever for the rest of the period. 

She turned around, and immediately narrowed her eyes at Viktor and Bella, who had obviously been doing  _ something _ and had stopped doing it immediately after she turned around and gave her their most innocent expressions (it didn’t work. She knew both of them well enough to know that neither ever looked  _ that _ innocent unless they were doing something they didn’t want her to know about.) She sat down between them, and noticed the slight blush rising up on Bella’s cheeks.

Well. She supposed, if Bella were blushing, it was probably something nice- Bella rarely ever blushed unless she was trying to do something nice and wasn’t sure if it would backfire on her- and maybe the innocent expressions truly were innocent (first time for everything). 

She shook her head, lips quirked up in amusement, and looked up at the clock.

Now seemed like a great time for a nap.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

She discovered, sometime during the next period (which she did share with Bella, but in which she did not sit anywhere near her girlfriend), that there was yet another flower in her bag- a beautiful deep purple that lightened into pink as it got towards the center. One of the petals had gotten slightly crushed in her bag, but she smoothed it out and looked over at Bella, who was peeking over at her anxiously. She must have slipped it in with Viktor while she’d been handing in the papers. 

She leaned over and nudged Neville slightly. Their pre-calc teacher, Mr. Flitwick, was letting them work on their own, and their conversation would be missed among the slight buzz of talking in the room.

“Hey. What kind of flower is this?”

He peered at it. “A Morning Glory. I think it means affection. Whoever’s sending you these must have done their research.” He looked like he wanted to ask if she knew who it was, but stopped himself. She loved Neville for that- he never pried unless he had to.

“Yes, I suppose they did. Thanks, Nev.”

“No problem.”

When he wasn’t looking she looked over at Bella and shot her a quick smile.

Her shoulders visibly relaxed, and she went back to her work.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Well, someone’s very popular today,” Ginny teased. Hermione groaned and sank lower down to the table. One of the first things Neville had said when everyone sat down at the table was “hey, guys, Hermione got another flower during pre-calc today”, and her friends were all trying to figure out who it was.

Hermione made a face at Ginny. “What about you? Don’t act like I can’t see that box of chocolates sticking out of your bag, Ginny Weasley. Your secret admirer at it again?”

Ginny’s entire face flamed red, and she shoved the chocolates deeper into her bag as the rest of the table turned to her. Unlike with Hermione, there was no debate on who was sending her chocolates. 

Harry’s similarly red face said more than enough.

“You’d better let me have some,” grinned George, pointing his fork at her. “You know I love chocolate.”

“Which is exactly why I won’t be giving some to you,” Ginny teased. Suddenly, her face went white with horror. “Oh, no.”

Expecting the worst, Hermione turned around to find the Hogwarts High Chorus standing behind her. Oh, no, indeed.

The leader grinned- she knew exactly what kind of response their presence was meant to bring about- and stepped towards the table. The entire table leaned back a bit. Worries and rumors alike had been flying about the school about the chorus’s new job- Lockhart had them taking out commissions to serenade people at random intervals throughout the day. Already today, Cho Chang had had three different encounters with the singers, Ernie MacMillan had made a daring escape by sliding into McGonagall’s classroom seconds before they started singing (despite their general enthusiasm, no one wanted to go into McGonagall’s room and interrupt the start of her class), and a gleeful Pansy Parkinson had paid them to come into their history class and sing an extremely mortified Lavender not one, but 5 different love songs for the express purpose of embarrassing her.

Needless to say, they were gaining a reputation.

“Alright. We’ve got two different recipients from this table- lucky you!” They did not feel lucky, and the chorus knew it. “To one Ginny Weasley- Just the Way You Are by Bruno Mars.”

Fred and George immediately whipped out their phones and trained them on the scene, and Ginny buried her head in her arms, face reaching record levels of redness. When they finished the song (several heads had turned their way, and were sniggering at her, finding joy in her embarrassment while at the same time thanking whoever was out there that it hadn’t been them), everyone in their group burst into applause and Ginny peeked out from where she seemed to be trying her best to melt into the table to glare at them. Harry looked crestfallen- perhaps, she thought, he had expected to have a much more positive reaction. (Hermione, of course, knew that the embarrassment was likely temporary, and that she, Alicia, Katie, and Angelina would spend an afternoon listening to her gush about her “secret” admirer and trying not to laugh).

“And next up,” Oh, no, she’d forgotten there were two, “To Hermione Granger: I Can’t Help Falling In Love With You by Elvis Presley.”

Oh, god, Bella.

She had to admit, it was sweet. And surprising, seeing as Bella made a habit of avoiding any member of the chorus on a day to day basis and hated both commercialized holidays and popular music with unrivaled passion. But, it seemed, she was making an exception for her- her heart warmed at the thought.

They ended the song- this time, it was Ginny’s song to sarcastically clap for them- and the leader pulled something from her bag. “We were asked to deliver this to you once we’d finished singing.”

She reached out and grabbed the rose (she didn’t know much about flowers, but she knew what a  _ rose _ looked like, at least) between her fingers. Bella was really going all out on the flower theme.

“Er. Thanks,” she managed to squeak. The chorus smiled far too cheerfully and moved on, hunting down their next victim.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Hermione! Scary girl vonts me to give this to you.”

Another flower. She leaned across the gap between their seats to grab it. She- she thought it was a tulip. Like, pretty sure. Almost positive. It was a very pretty red, and she admired it for a moment before hurrying to put it with the others, which she had on her desk and had been carrying around for fear of crushing them. 

There was a knock on the door, and Viktor and Hermione along with the rest of the class turned to look, many likely praying that it wasn’t the chorus (Hermione wasn’t worried- while she had already had her bout of embarrassment, she also knew that, like McGonagall, Mme Delacour would  _ not _ be pleased if a chorus came into her room, and the chorus knew that too.)

“Ah, Miss Delacour? I have a delivery for you.” A janitor had opened the door and was leaning into the classroom.

Mme Delacour looked up from her phone and frowned. “Really? I did not order anything.”

The janitor grinned and stooped down and out of sight to grab something, and emerged carrying the biggest teddy bear Hermione had ever seen in her life. Ginny howled with laughter from her spot in the room.

Mme Delacour’s face flared a bright red before dying down again. “I- oh, god. Just- put it over zere, I will ‘ave to deal with it later,” she sighed, heavy french accent the only sign of embarrassment once she had controlled her blush. The class sniggered.

The janitor, still grinning, put the bear over by where she had indicated and left the room. Delacour pulled out her phone and started furiously typing, likely texting Bill. Hermione leaned down to her bag and pulled out her english homework- once Mme Delacour went on the warpath, it would take her a while to cool down (though, she reflected, it was possible that she looked a  _ little _ flattered by whatever Bill was saying).

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The rest of the school day dragged on, in which Hermione got one more flower and Lavender and Parkinson went to the nurse’s office, again. She rushed home and packed her car, mentally running through the list of things that she needed to bring, before plowing through all of her homework. Finally, it got to 7:00 just as she finished off her dinner.

_ Hermione:  _

_ I’m picking u up in 10 minutes _

_ Bella: _

_ Where are we going? Andy’s grinning at me but she won’t tell me anything _

No period at the end of that last sentence. Improvement.

_ Hermione: _

_ You’ll see ;) _

She shoved her phone into her bag and headed out to her car.

The drive to Bella’s house/mansion was familiar at this point- she didn’t think she’d ever been over that late before, though. Bella, apparently, had a strict curfew of 11 on the dot (she wasn’t sure what, exactly, would  _ happen _ if she missed it, but it must’ve been an effective threat, because Bella was always rushing home or rushing her  _ out _ of her home by 10) and usually didn’t have her over after 6.

When she pulled up, Bella was already waiting outside, and she clambered into the passenger’s seat of the car. “Where are we going?”

“You’ll see,” Hermione grinned, causing Bella to huff and sink down into her seat. “We’ll be there in about half an hour, you can wait that long, right?”

“Mm.”

Still grinning, she turned on the radio, which, to Bella’s eternal chagrin, was playing one of the popular songs she tried so hard to avoid (Bella preferred either classical music or rock groups that Hermione had never heard of and nothing in between). 

They drove in relative silence, Hermione balancing only one hand on the wheel while the other clasped Bella’s hand. The roads were a bit crowded, couples heading out to dinner reservations and the like, but they still made good time, and in less than an hour they were sat staring at a wide field in- well, practically the middle of nowhere.

“Please tell me you’re not about to kill me and dump my body in the river over there.”

Hermione rolled her eyes. “You watch too many horror movies.”

Bella smiled, and got out of the car. Hermione followed, looking up at the sky and thanking everything she knew that it had been a cloudless night. She killed the engine and grabbed the bag out of the back seat. “Come on.”

She grabbed Bella’s hand and led her out into the field. Bella wrenched her hand away to zip up her coat- it was cold outside. Not cold enough, however, to turn back, and it wouldn’t be until well after they had to leave. She would know. She and, by extension Andy, had been obsessively checking the weather all week.

“Not that this isn’t lovely, but what are we doing out here?”

“You’ll see.” They walked for a few more minutes before Hermione found a spot that she deemed acceptable and she lowered her bag to the ground. She could still see, thankfully, there were lights dotted here and there around the field that she knew went out at around 8 to discourage people from staying out on the field (knowing this, she had brought a flashlight.)

The first thing to come out was a blanket, which she laid out on the grass and motioned for Bella to sit on. Then a smaller bag of food- it was too cold for bugs to be out to eat it, blessedly- then a small lantern. Bella watched in astonishment. “How much stuff do you have in that bag? How did it even  _ fit _ -” Her voice died off as Hermione pulled out a small vase with the various flowers that Bella had gotten her tucked in. “I take it you liked the flowers?”

Hermione smiled at her. “They were lovely. And very well executed, too.”

She could see Bella’s blush at the praise even in the dim lighting, and went back to getting out all of the food. “Strawberry?”

Bella nodded, and held out her hand for Hermione to put it in, biting into the strawberry and groaning softly at the taste. “This is really good.”

Ignoring the heat flowing to her face at the sound, she shrugged. “Your sister recommended them, actually.”

She snorted. “Figures. She helped you with- all of this?”

“Yep. She gave me the idea when I went to her to ask what I should get you.” 

“Hm. Smart. She knows what I like.”

Hermione hummed in return and opened up the rest of the containers- they were in tupperware containers, and she  _ knew _ it wasn’t exactly the most elegant thing, but from the way Bella was smiling she either didn’t notice or didn’t care.

They ate in a comfortable silence for a couple of minutes before they were plunged into sudden darkness as the lights went out around the field. “Oh, shit,” Bella hissed, reaching over to grab her hand. “This is unfortunate.”

“Mm. Not really.”

She could imagine the look of confusion on Bella’s face (along with an adorable head tilt) when she asked, “What do you mean?”

She scooted closer, glancing up quickly before cupping her cheek with her hand. She kissed her and then broke away. “Look up.”

Bella gasped audibly when she tilted her head up, and Hermione copied her movement to look up at the sky. Without any lights for miles, in the middle of an empty field, the sky was clearer than she had ever seen it, stars that usually weren’t bright enough to see twinkling against the dark sky. They sat frozen for a minute, or two, before Bella cleared her throat.

Her voice was hoarse when she spoke. “I- it’s beautiful.”

Hermione looked down at her and leaned forward to leave a quick kiss on her cheek. “Like you.”

She felt more than heard Bella’s quick huff of exasperation. “Cheesy.”

“You know you love it.”

Instead of answering, Bella sighed and tucked her head into Hermione’s shoulder, leaving a quick kiss on her neck. Hermione shivered and laid an arm around Bella’s waist, gently pulling her down to lay down on the ground, facing the sky.

Smooth fingers laced with her own, and Hermione breathed out a sigh of contentment and relaxed, tightening her hand around her girlfriend’s and looking up at the endless night sky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They're so cute :') Let me know what you thought!


End file.
